Loan periods

Loan conditions

You have 5 working days to pick up the items you ordered.

The following loan conditions apply to all persons verifiably resident in Germany.

Loan periods

The loan period for books is 3 weeks. The loan period can be renewed in EconBiz, up to four times if no reservation has been made. Then the book must be presented at the loan service desk and can be re-issued if desired.

Journals and newspapers will be held for you at the service desk for 5 working days and can be read, copied and scanned at the ZBW. If there is no reservation for them you can have them re-issued for another week.

Overdue fines

If books are returned late, we charge overdue fines at the following rates:

  •     Until 7 days after the due date the fee amounts to 1 Euro per title.
  •     From 8 til 14 days after the due date the fee amounts to 2.50 Euros per title.
  •     From 15 til 21 days after the due date the fee amounts to 5 Euros per title.
  •     From 22 til 28 after the due date te fee amounts to 15 Euros per title.

Overdue fines can be paid in cash at the service desk or by card at the pay machine. For payments at the pay machine you need to transfer money to your ZBW card from your EC card. Overdue fines of 10 Euros and more can also be paid by invoice.

Please note that at the fourth stage of overdue loans the ZBW card will be disabled and further borrowings will not be possible. The ZBW card will also be disabled if the amount due exceeds 25 Euros. Please contact our service desks in Kiel or Hamburg in such cases.

Please return the books on time, i.e. at the latest on the last day of the loan period and before closing time. If you use the book return box in Kiel after closing time on that day, overdue fines will apply.