User regulations

Library Regulations for the University Library of the Technische Universität Braunschweig

The German version of this document is the only legally binding version. This English translation is for your convenience only.

Table of content

I. General

§ 1 Scope of application
§ 2 Tasks of the library

II. General terms and conditions of use

§ 3 Legal Nature of the User Relationship
§ 4 Admission to the use of the library
§ 5 Storage of Personal Data
§ 6 Conduct in the Library
§ 7 Duty of Care and Compensation
§ 8 Inspections, lost property, domiciliary rights
§ 9 Reproductions
§ 10 Opening hours
§ 11 Liability of the Library
§ 12 Fees and Expenses, Charges, Deposit

III. Usage within the library

§ 13 General
§ 14 Usage in the Reading Room
§ 15 Access to the stacks
§ 16 Use of manuscripts and other special collections
§ 17 Use of technical facilities

IV. Loans

§ 18 General loan regulations
§ 19 Borrowing procedure in the case of electronic booking
§ 20 Borrowing procedure in the case of conventional booking
§ 21 Loan periods, extensions of loan periods, reclaims
§ 22 Return of items
§ 23 Overdue notices
§ 24 Reservations

V. Interlibrary loan

§ 25 Receiving interlibrary loan
§ 26 Providing interlibrary loan

VI. Other provisions

§ 27 Exclusion from use
§ 28 Additions to the Regulations for Use
§ 29 Taking effect

Implementing regulations

I. General

§ 1 Scope of application

These Library Regulations apply to the University Library of the TU Braunschweig.

§ 2 Tasks of the library

The library serves as a public institution for science and scientific education, professional work and further education.
The library fulfils its tasks in particular by
1. making its collections available for use on its premises,
2. lending out part of its holdings for use outside the library,
3. producing, enabling or arranging reproductions of its own works and works obtained from other libraries,
4. procures works on loan from the libraries and makes them available for loan,
5. provides information on the basis of its holdings and information resources,
6. provides information from databases,
7. carries out public relations work, in particular through exhibitions, guided tours and lectures,
8. issues publications.
The nature and scope of the services shall be determined by the library's specific tasks and its staffing, equipment and technical facilities.

II. General terms and conditions of use

§ 3 Legal Nature of the User Relationship

The user relationship is generally governed by public law. Agreements under private law can be made on specific uses.

§ 4 Admission to the use of the library

Anyone wishing to use the library must be admitted.
Use is only permitted after registration. Registration must always be made in person. A valid identity card or passport must be presented. If the place of residence is not evident from this identity card, appropriate official proof must also be presented.
Admission to use the library is granted by issuing a user card, which remains the property of the library and is non-transferable.
Admission to use may be granted for a limited period of time and subject to conditions.
Admission may be made dependent on the written consent of the legal representatives and/or on a directly enforceable guarantee.
By registering, the user accepts these regulations.
The library must be informed immediately of any change of residence. Anyone who fails to comply with this obligation shall be liable to the library for any resulting costs and disadvantages.
At the end of the user relationship, all items borrowed from the library and the user card must be returned. Outstanding obligations must be settled.
Insofar as a de-registration by the library is required for exmatriculation, this shall only be granted if the obligations under paragraph 8 have been fulfilled.

§ 5 Storage of Personal Data

The library collects and processes personal data insofar as this is necessary for the legitimate fulfilment of its tasks. As a rule, the following data is collected:
1. User data (name and address, date of birth, sex, user number and, if applicable, matriculation number, date of admission, expiry of authorization, date of change, user status and type),
2. usage data (date of loan, end of loan period, date of deadline extensions, date of return, reservations and orders with date, date of origin and amount of fees, substitute services and expenses, blocking notice, number of current reminders, exclusion from use).
The usage data will be deleted as soon as the user has returned the work in question and, if applicable, has paid the fees, expenses and charges due and has provided the replacement services owed. Suspension notices are deleted as soon as the obligations on which they are based have been fulfilled.
Entries concerning a temporary exclusion from use shall be deleted one year after expiry of the exclusion period.
User data shall be deleted at the latest one year after the end of the user relationship. If the user has not yet fulfilled all obligations to the library at that time, the data shall be deleted immediately after fulfilment of the obligations.
Paragraphs 2 to 4 do not apply to the use of particularly valuable works.

§ 6 Conduct in the Library

Users must behave in such a way that others are not impaired in their justified claims and that library operations are not interfered with. They are obliged to comply with the library's regulations. The instructions of the library staff must be followed.
Coats, hats, umbrellas, bags, etc. are to be handed in or locked up if appropriate storage facilities are available.
Photographs, film and sound recordings of any kind may only be made in the library with the consent of the library management.
The library must be kept quiet in all rooms used for library purposes. Smoking, eating and drinking are only permitted in the rooms provided for this purpose. Animals may not be brought into the library.
The library may prohibit the use of dictation machines, data processing equipment, wireless telephones, typewriters or other devices or restrict them to some special workstations.

§ 7 Duty of Care and Compensation

Library items must be handled with care. Writing, underlining, marking and tracing are not permitted.
Users must check the condition and completeness of each work on receipt and report any damage to the library staff immediately.
Whoever loses or damages a work or whoever damages other working materials or objects of the library must pay compensation, even if he or she is not at fault. The library shall determine the type of compensation at its reasonable discretion. In particular, it may demand that the user restore the work to its previous condition, procure a replacement copy, another work of equal value or a reproduction at the user's expense, or set an appropriate monetary compensation; in addition, it may seek compensation for any loss of value not compensated for by these measures.
The loss of a user card must be reported to the library immediately.
The user is liable for damages caused to the library by misuse of the user card, even if he or she is not at fault.

§ 8 Inspections, lost property, domiciliary rights

All books, journals, etc. brought into the library must be clearly visible to the supervisor. The library is also authorized to check the contents of folders, bags and other containers.
Official identification and the user card must be presented to library staff on request.
Objects found in the library or taken from lockers that have not been cleared in due time will be dealt with in accordance with § 978 of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (German Civil Code).
The library director exercises domiciliary rights; he/she may assign library staff to exercise domiciliary rights.

§ 9 Reproductions

Upon request, the library may make microfiches, microfilms and other reproductions from its holdings or from library materials arranged by it or have them made, provided that it is ensured that the works are not damaged. Users are solely responsible for the observance of copyright and personal rights and other rights of third parties in the use of these reproductions.
Reproductions from manuscripts and other special collections as well as older, valuable or fragile works may only be made by the library or with its consent. The library determines the type of reproduction. It may refuse or restrict reproduction for reasons of conservation.
If the library itself produces the reproduction, it shall retain the rights arising therefrom; the original recordings shall remain its property.
Reproduction for commercial purposes (e.g. reprints, facsimile editions, postcards) or on a larger scale requires a special agreement which also determines the compensation. The right of reproduction and use may not be transferred to third parties without the permission of the library.

§ 10 Opening hours

The opening hours of the library are set by the library management and announced by notice board. The library may be closed temporarily for important reasons.

§ 11 Liability of the Library

The library or its supporting organization is not liable for the loss of or damage to items brought into the library. The library or its supporting organization is only liable for items lost from the existing storage facilities if the library is proven to be at fault; no liability is accepted for money, valuables and precious items.
The library or its supporting organization is not liable for damage caused by incorrect, incomplete, omitted or delayed library services. The same applies to damage caused by the use of data carriers, databases or electronic networks.

§ 12 Fees and Expenses, Charges, Deposit

The collection of fees and expenses shall be governed by the relevant cost-law provisions of the state.
The ordering of reproductions, the use of chargeable database connections and other special facilities and services of the library requires the user to pay the fees announced by notice.
For the commercial use of holdings, in particular for the utilization of reproductions from manuscripts and other valuable holdings, the library may charge fees to be agreed in individual cases.
An appropriate deposit may be charged for the provision of keys to wardrobe lockers, lockers and other library facilities. If locks have to be replaced due to the loss of keys, the user shall bear the costs.

III. Usage within the library

§ 13 General

By using the library facilities and services, the user agrees to comply with the relevant terms and conditions of the Library Regulations.
Access to the library may be subject to the presentation of a user card.

§ 14 Usage in the Reading Room

All works set up and displayed in the library's reading rooms can be used on site.
Reading room seats may not be reserved in advance. Anyone leaving the reading room must vacate their place unless they can be assigned a permanent workstation there. Otherwise, occupied but idle places may be cleared and reassigned by the library staff.
Generally, the items on display in the reading rooms may only be used in the rooms in which they are set up or laid out. After use, the works must be returned to their location or placed in a designated spot. If, for security reasons, reading room works are placed with the staff on duty, they will be issued there against deposit of an identity card.
All works placed in the stacks as well as works held by other libraries can be ordered for use in the reading room. They must be received at the designated point (reading room supervisor, lending desk) and returned there. If works made available for use in the reading room are not used for more than three days, the library may dispose of them otherwise.

§ 15 Access to the stacks

Access to restricted stacks is not permitted for any reason.

§ 16 Use of manuscripts and other special collections

Manuscripts and other valuable holdings may only be used if the purpose is stated and only in the rooms designated by the library for consultation. The security precautions necessary for the preservation of these holdings must be followed.
The library may exclude contemporary manuscripts and autographs, especially bequests, from use for an appropriate period of time in order to protect personality rights.
Texts and images from manuscripts and autographs of the library may only be published with the consent of the library. The same applies to publications from rare prints and portrait collections. In the case of publication, the user is responsible for compliance with copyright regulations. Even after permission for publication has been granted, the library retains the right to publish the texts and images in question itself or to allow third parties to publish them.
A sample copy of every publication from and about manuscripts and autographs of the library is to be delivered to the library without being requested and free of charge immediately after publication. The same applies, at the request of the library, to publications from or about rare prints. The Library reserves the right to make special arrangements in individual cases. The provisions of copyright law remain unaffected.

§ 17 Use of technical facilities

The library provides technical equipment for the use of information carriers within the scope of its possibilities.
Defects detected before and during use are to be reported to the library staff immediately.

IV. Loans

§ 18 General loan regulations

The items available in the library can be borrowed for use outside the library. Excluded are in principle:
1. the non-lending collection of the reading rooms and the other service rooms,
2. manuscripts and autographs,
3. works of special value, especially those more than 100 years old,
4. collected volumes and loose-leaf editions,
5. plates, maps, atlases,
6. unbound works, individual issues of unbound periodicals,
7. typewritten dissertations,
8. microforms,
9. audio carriers and audiovisual media.
The library management may exclude further works from borrowing or restrict their borrowing. In particular, it may temporarily block individual works or groups of literature from being borrowed or, if borrowed, reclaim them.
For non-lending collections, the library management may set special conditions for short-term lending, e.g. overnight or over the weekend.
The circulation of highly requested works can be restricted to the reading room.
The library is entitled to limit the number of individual orders and the number of volumes borrowed at the same time.
In the case of works that are not suitable for unrestricted use, borrowing may be made dependent on proof of a scholarly or professional purpose.
As a rule, the user must collect the requested items in person from the circulation desk. Generally, users must present items taken from the open access holdings in person at the circulation desk.
The borrowing process is completed with the booking of the loan and the handing over of the works to the user. The borrower is liable for the work from this point until it is returned, even if he or she cannot be proven to be at fault.
Ordered and reserved works are generally held for no longer than ten days.
The library is entitled, but not obliged, to hand over the works to any person who presents the relevant user card.
Borrowed works may not be passed on to third parties.

§ 19 Borrowing procedure in the case of electronic booking

Borrowing is carried out by presenting the user card at the library's circulation desks. The automatic recording of the borrowing process is considered as proof that the work has been handed over.
Selfe-service may be permitted for certain processes at the terminals designated for this purpose. This applies in particular to
1. Book enquiries (title, loan status),
2. orders,
3. extensions of the loan period,
4. reservations,
5. overview of the loan, fee and cost accounts,
6. loan bookings.
If the loan is booked automatically, the loan slip can be omitted. If the order is placed electronically, the user number and password must be entered. The user is liable for misuse. The replacement of a forgotten password is always subject to a charge.

§ 20 Borrowing procedure in the case of conventional booking

For each requested work, a loan slip must be filled out in full, in clearly readable writing, and handed in. The order form, which is marked with an issue mark, is considered proof that the work has been handed over.
Each loan slip must bear the handwritten signature of the person placing the order or of an authorized representative. Orders from legal persons, authorities and companies must be accompanied by company stamp. For legal persons, authorities and companies, proof of authorization to lend must be provided. The library may require proof of the authorized signatory and the deposit of samples of signatures of the authorized signatories.
When placing orders, please indicate the location number (signature) of the desired work.
If an ordered work is not available, has been lent or cannot be lent, the order form will be returned to the orderer at the circulation desk with a note to that effect.

§ 21 Loan periods, extensions of loan periods, reclaims

The loan period is generally 28 days. The library may set a different period according to the requirements of the user service.
The loan period may be extended upon request if the work is not requested by another party and the borrower has fulfilled his or her obligations to the library. According to the requirements of the user service, extensions of the loan period can be excluded. Requests for extensions must be made before the loan period expires.
The library sets a limit on the number of loan period extensions. When extending the loan period, the library may require the borrowed work to be presented. An extension beyond the period of license to use the item will not be granted.
The library may reclaim a work before the expiry of the loan period if it is needed for official purposes. It may order a general return of all works for the purpose of revision.
When lending works that are needed for research purposes for a longer period of time, the library may - without a special request - extend the loan period several times if there are no reservations conflicting with this.

§ 22 Return of items

Borrowed items must be returned to the library before the loan period expires. Proof of timely return is provided by return receipts, which the library will issue upon request. Receipts generated by electronic data processing are valid without a signature.

§ 23 Overdue notices

Anyone who exceeds the loan period without having applied for an extension in due time will be sent a written reminder setting a deadline. If he or she does not comply with this reminder within the time limit, a second reminder will be issued. If the deadline set in the second reminder is not met, a third reminder will be issued with a deadline of 14 days upon proof of delivery. At the same time, the library shall point out the legal consequences of failure to comply with the deadline (paragraph 5).
The reminder fee arises with the issuance of the reminder letter.
Reminders to return items are considered delivered three days after they have been posted. They shall also be considered delivered if they were posted to the last address notified by the borrower and returned as undeliverable.
Until the borrower complies with the request for return or pays any fees owed, the library may stop lending further works to him or her and refuse to extend the loan period.
If the borrowed work is not returned within the period of 14 days after the third reminder or a corresponding letter (paragraph 6), the library may
1. have the item collected from the user's home,
2. obtain a replacement or demand compensation for the value of the item,
3. use means of administrative enforcement.
The library may dispense with reminders and instead collect late fees for late return of works. If the user does not return borrowed works after expiry of the loan period within a period set by the library, he or she will be given a further period of 14 days against proof of delivery. The legal consequences of non-compliance with this deadline are pointed out (paragraph 5).

§ 24 Reservations

Loaned works can be reserved for borrowing or for use in the reading room.
The library may limit the number of reservations for the same book and the number of reservations per user.

V. Interlibrary loan

§ 25 Receiving interlibrary loan

Works that are not available locally can be ordered from a foreign library through the library's intermediary by way of regional, German or international interlibrary loan. Borrowing is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the current interlibrary loan regulations, international agreements and the special conditions of the lending library.
Interlibrary loan orders are generally to be submitted in person. Orders and related requests, such as for extensions of time limits or exceptions, are to be routed through the intermediary library. Requests for deadline extensions should be limited to exceptional cases.

§ 26 Providing interlibrary loan

The library makes its holdings available for external interlibrary loan in accordance with the provisions of the current interlibrary loan regulations.

VI. Other provisions

§ 27 Exclusion from use

If a user seriously or repeatedly violates the provisions of the Library Regulations or if the continuation of a user relationship has otherwise become unreasonable due to the occurrence of special circumstances, the library may temporarily or permanently exclude the user, even partially, from using the library. All obligations arising from the user relationship shall remain in force after the exclusion.
In the case of particularly serious violations, the library is justified in notifying other libraries of the exclusion and its grounds. The right to prosecution remains reserved.

§ 28 Additions to the Regulations for Use

The library directorate is entitled to issue implementing regulations for these Library Regulations. This shall be done in consultation with the Library Commission.

§ 29 Taking effect

These regulations come into effect on the day after they are published by the university. At the same time, the Library Regulations of 11.7.1978, amended by Senate resolution of 26.11.1986, shall cease to apply.

Implementing Provisions for the Library Regulations of the University Library of the Technische Universität Braunschweig

regarding § 6,5
The use of cordless telephones is only permitted for official purposes. Walkmen are not permitted in the library.
regarding § 21,1
The loan periods of the University Library are:

1. textbook collection 28 days

2. local lending desk and reading rooms normal lending 21 days short lending 14 days

3. interlibrary loans from other libraries, if not specified by the lending library 1 month

4. lending of reference holdings until the next opening day 10.00 a.m.
Professors and academic staff of the TU Braunschweig receive a grace period of 150 days until the first reminder in addition to the loan period - only when borrowing stacks. This grace period of 150 days is interrupted by an advance order from a third party.