Interlibrary Loan Policy

The interlibrary loan service obtains learning and research materials that are not available in the Information Resource Center. Books are borrowed from other libraries, while journal articles are usually sent as black and white print copies. The conditions of this service are set by the individual lending libraries and international copyright guidelines which the IRC must abide by in order to participate.

If you have any questions, please contact us by e-mail: irc-ill@jacobs-university.de.

Materials that can be requested through interlibrary loan

  • Anything not owned by the Information Resource Center.
  • Items owned by the IRC, but currently unavailable, i.e. "lost" or "missing."

Books that are in the reserve collection may not be requested through interlibrary loan.

Items that may be difficult to obtain

  • Rare items and older books (published before 1950).
  • Very recent publications. Those items can be recommended for the IRC collection using the recommend titles form.
  • Items which other institutions consider to be reference material.
  • Items which are in poor condition.
  • Software and multimedia materials of all sorts, including DVDs. These can be ordered from the Bremen Public Library.

ILL patron groups

The ILL service is only available to Jacobs University Bremen students, faculty, and staff.

Student assistants of professors

To self-order ILL items via the union catalog (GVK) for a professor, student assistants should use the personal account data of the respective professor. For picking up items, the professor's office card has to be used. The office card should also be used for placing ILL orders with the ILL department through the order forms on the library website.

Placing ILL requests

Use the Citation Linker to place ILL requests. The Citation Linker will automatically check whether the IRC has online access to or a print copy of the item you are looking for before offering links to the ILL ordering options.

Expected delivery times

Delivery times depend on several factors. We cannot predict precisely when an order will arrive. Usually it takes about ten working days for books and articles to arrive. Once the item has arrived, a notification will be sent via email.

Fees & fines

There is usually no charge for materials received through ILL. However, if an ILL item is not picked up by the patron after its arrival, the patron's account will be fined € 3 per item. This fine will be charged either when the book is returned or two to three months after the arrival of an article. Overdue ILL materials incur a fine of € 0.50 per item per day.

Since the IRC may lose borrowing privileges at other libraries due to late or not returned ILL books, the IRC will bar patrons from the ILL service if materials are not returned after the third overdue notice.

Loan periods & renewals

The loan period is determined by the lending library and is usually two to four weeks. The due date of the item is marked on the receipt. The due date can also be checked in My Library Account.

A one-time renewal can be requested but may be denied by the supplying library. Renewal requests should be sent to irc-ill@jacobs-university.de three to five working days before the item is due.