Interlibrary Loan
Ordering
In our online catalog TUM OPAC, you will find more than 500 million items from TUM as well as from other academic libraries. This allows you to conveniently order literature directly, regardless of whether it is available at TUM or via interlibrary loan. TUM OPAC serves as the central search and ordering platform.
Terms of Use
Who can Use our Interlibrary Loan Service?
We offer interlibrary loan services to all users of our library, whether you study or work at TUM, have a guest status, or use the library as an external user. The prerequisite is that you have a library account.
What can be Ordered via Interlibrary Loan?
- Books that are not available locally*
- Articles from specialist journals or scholarly journals
- Up to 10% of books that are not available locally*
You Cannot Order the Following via Interlibrary Loan:
- Literature available locally*, even if it is not loanable (in other publicly accessible libraries) or currently on loan
- Paperbacks available through bookshops, hobby and leisure literature, as well as, as a rule, literature that is commercially available for no more than €15,00
- Literature unsuitable for shipping, e.g., extremely large-format works or very valuable media
- Reproductions for commercial purposes
- Reproductions from newspapers and popular magazines (so-called newsstand magazines)
* At TUM, this means that you can only order books from other Munich libraries, e.g., the Bavarian State Library, to Garching, Weihenstephan, or Straubing. Within Munich, you must visit the other libraries yourself.
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Login and Search
Log in to the TUM OPAC using your TUM ID or library number, then search for the literature you need.
Step 2: Order Button
If interlibrary loan is available, you will find the button “Order via interlibrary loan”.
Step 3: Home Library
In the field “Home library”, specify the TUM location where you would like to pick up your order. If the requested literature is available in another local library (e.g., the Bavarian State Library), you will receive a corresponding notice. In this case, you must visit that library yourself or order the literature via its local OPAC.
Step 4: Order Details
In the final step, add any missing order information (e.g., year of publication, journal volume number) and submit your order.
Nothing found or not quite what you are looking for?
Even if you cannot find the literature you need in TUM OPAC, you can still place an interlibrary loan request.
- Click on “Tools” in the top menu bar and select the option “Open interlibrary loan”.
- You may need to log in first.
- Then select the TUM location under “Home library” where you would like to pick up your order.
- Submit your request using the appropriate button: “book”, “copy from book”, or “copy from journal”.
Our interlibrary loan team will then research the literature for you outside Bavaria and forward your request.
Interlibrary Loan at Campus Heilbronn
If you would like interlibrary loan orders to be delivered to the Education Campus Heilbronn, please contact the Central Library of LIV in Heilbronn. It provides interlibrary loan services for students and staff of TUM in Heilbronn.
For questions regarding interlibrary loan in Heilbronn, please contact: fernleihe@liv-bib.de
Further Information
LIV information sheet interlibrary loan
Fees
National Interlibrary Loan – Free of Charge
At TUM, we offer interlibrary loan services within Germany free of charge. Articles, papers, and e-books are available for download. Physical books from other German libraries are provided for loan. If items are not returned on time, recall costs may apply.
International Interlibrary Loan – Fee-based
For orders from abroad, prices vary by country. We will inform you of the expected costs in each individual case. You can then decide whether to accept these costs or cancel the order.
Pickup & Download
As soon as your interlibrary loan is ready, you will be notified by email. You can then pick up or download your order:
- Books: Pickup at the branch library; pickup period: 10 days
- E-books: Download link in your library account; download period: 14 days
- Articles: Download link in your library account; download period: 40 days
Delivery Times
Please place your interlibrary loan orders in good time!
- Literature from Bavarian libraries is usually available within one week.
- For literature from other federal states, you should expect waiting times of two weeks or more.
- For orders from abroad, delivery times may be even longer.
Loans & Renewals
Books and other physical media are provided for loan. You must return them on time. If you exceed the loan period, you risk a media reclaim subject to a fee.
Loan periods
- Loan periods are generally four weeks, with the option of renewal.
- Loan conditions are determined by the owning library. If it specifies shorter loan periods or withdraws an already granted renewal, you must return interlibrary loan books early.
Order Status & Deadlines
You can view an overview of your interlibrary loan orders in your library account. Under the menu item “Requested items”, you will find the relevant links, sorted by the TUM locations you specified when placing the order.
Please note:
- The status display “Order in delivery” is not updated. Updates can be found in your library account under “Requested items” or “Borrowed items”.
- Order data remains in your account for one year. You can permanently hide it manually.
Returning
You can return interlibrary loan books at all of our branch libraries – regardless of where you originally picked them up. Returns are possible during all opening hours.
Please ensure that items are returned on time. Otherwise, you risk a media reclaim subject to a fee.