Interlibrary loan is a cooperative institution provided by libraries to obtain materials for scholarly purposes from other libraries, either on loan or as copies. It is governed by the Interlibrary Loan Policy.

Key Information

• Only materials that are not available in a publicly accessible library in Karlsruhe can be ordered through interlibrary loan. Before placing an interlibrary loan request, you should therefore search for the desired titles in the Karlsruhe Library Portal.
• To place an order, you need a library account. Before placing your first order, please log in here once to verify that your library account is active. 
• Please place a separate order for each desired title (book, article, etc.).
• A processing fee of 1.50 EUR is charged for each request, regardless of whether it is successful. For employees of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, and the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Karlsruhe, the KIT Library covers this fee. More information on fees
• Delivery time averages 1–3 weeks (depending on the lending library).
• You can find information on the status of your order in your account statement.

Here’s how it works

• Open the BSZ interlibrary loan portal in your browser. Log in at the top right using your KIT Library credentials. You can order books, journal articles, chapters from anthologies, etc., as well as standards.

• For book orders (including chapters in books), select the “Interlibrary Loan” tab in the top left corner and enter your search term there.

• To order journal articles, select the “Journals” tab in the top left corner and enter your search term there.

• Tip: If you can’t find what you’re looking for using the search function, use the open-access interlibrary loan form (provide as complete bibliographic information as possible here). Only expand abbreviations (e.g., journal titles, organizations, companies, first names) if you are absolutely certain. If a desired title cannot be identified bibliographically, you will be asked to provide a copy of the citation.)

• To order standards, please use the general interlibrary loan form and select the “Borrow” option. 

If your request cannot be fulfilled, you will be notified by email or in writing.

Pickup: You will be notified as soon as the materials are ready for pickup. The exact pickup location will also be specified. Journal articles are usually delivered electronically. If the license agreements do not permit this, the item will be delivered as a copy. Standards are generally provided as copies that do not need to be returned.

Returns: Unless otherwise specified on your interlibrary loan slip, returns can be made at the following locations: 

• KIT Library South

• KIT Library North

• HKA Specialized Library

• DHBW Karlsruhe Specialized Library

The white interlibrary loan slip provided at the time of checkout must remain in the book until it is returned.

Additional Information

International Orders: If the title you want is not available in Germany, it can be ordered through the international interlibrary loan service in certain cases. For more information, please contact our Info Desk.

The following cannot be ordered via interlibrary loan:

• Items available at the KIT Library, another library at KIT, or any other publicly accessible library in Karlsruhe (this also applies to items that are available at a library in Karlsruhe but are part of the reference collection or are currently on loan) 
• Items available in bookstores at a low price (up to 15.00 EUR)
• German bachelor’s, master’s, Magister, and diploma theses
• Loose-leaf editions, large-format items, reference library materials, valuable works, frequently used books available for on-site use (which are generally not available for loan from the libraries that hold them), newsstand magazines, and newspapers