Finding Resources

Some departmental libraries display new books on special shelves. These are generally located in the foyers.

The books remain displayed for one to four weeks until they are shelved at their final position. Whether the books can already be borrowed or reserved is indicated on the shelf labels or can be inquired at the circulation desks.

A list of new acquisitions (purchase, gift, exchange) of the last weeks is available online. A QR-code is tagged on the special shelves so that you can open the list on your smartphone.

If you like to suggest a book to be purchased, please fill in the form provided at the circulation desk or online (Purchase Suggestion).

In the compartments of the journal display (journal flaps) you will find the printed issues of the current year and partly of the previous year of journals. The individual issues are not circulating, since these are highly topical and needed by a lot of users at the same time. However, you can read them at any time and scan and save them.

As soon as a volume is complete, it is bound. The binding process may take some time - during this time the corresponding printed volume of the journal is not available. The bound volumes can be found under the call number, which is usually located directly on the respective journal flap.

If an issue is not available, please check in the library catalogue whether the journal is available as an online edition (e-journal).

In the departmental libraries frequently used textbooks and other basic course material is grouped together and shelved separately in the textbook collection.
Each book title is held in several generally loanable copies.

The call number of the textbook collection in all departmental libraries normally is 080 (e.g. QA080).
If all copies are on loan you can check the Catalogue.plus! for further copies that may be shelved in other departmental libraries.

The course reserves include the basic literature which is required for particular courses. They have been compiled by the lecturers themselves and arranged alphabetically by the lecturer's name on a separate shelf. More information.

Current issues of local, national and international daily and weekly newspapers (see table below) and news magazines (art, Cicero, Chip, Emma, Focus, Geo, natur, Der Spiegel, Stern, test / ökotest; The Economist, The New York Review, L'Obs) are available in the departmental library Information Sciences (U0, entrance via U1). Some newspapers are also available in the entrance area of the Linguistics and Literary Studies Library (D1), some news magazines (c't, Geo Wissen, Neon) in the reading corner in the Psychology / Educational Science Library (T1).

Many online archives of newspapers and news magazines can be searched (on campus or via VPN) and the articles read in the database Nexis Uni or wiso. In order to find out whether a particular newspaper is included, start wiso and click on the link Quellenliste (List of sources). Select the initial letter of the journal (notice: articles like "der" or "le" are omitted, so you will find e.g. "Die Zeit" under the letter "Z") and click on the magnifier icon to search the newspaper or select the page icon to get an table of contents of the current issue or select any other issue from the archive. In Nexis Uni click on Menu on the top left and select All Sources. Enter the title of the paper into the search form on the left hand side (Search within sources) and click on the magnifier icon. If the newspaper is included in Nexis Uni, it will be displayed on the right side in a hit list. Click on the three dots to the right of the newspaper's title. You can now choose between two options: Get documents (all articles from the newspaper will then be displayed - you can then search within the results using the filter on the left) or Add to search (you can then search within the source using the Nexis search mask at the top). We also provide a list of online versions of newspapers.

Back issues of some newspapers are archived (until 2008) on microfilm and can be viewed in the departmental library Information Sciences (U0) at special devices / scanners. Scanned pages can be saved free of charge as PDF files on USB flash drive. The staff at the service desk of the Library Services Centre (BDZ) will be happy to help you operate the equipment.

The library holds subscriptions of the following newspapers

Some collections are shelved in special areas of our departmental libraries, in the rare book collection and in the closed stack. These areas are not freely accessible. The circulation desks provide further information on the special area.

You can order books from closed stacks by filling out the order form you will get on the hit page of an item from this area when you search the library catalogue.

Depending on condition of use your ordered books can be picked up at the circulation desk in D1 (for loan or for use in the library) or for use in the special reading room in the departmental library Information Sciences (U0). The ordered books are made available as soon as possible within 24 hours of the next working day. You will be notified by email when your order is available.

Books from the rare books collection (marked with the location "FB 88" in the library catalogue) can also be ordered in the library catalogue via the link "Place a hold" and used in the special reading room. Holdings from other libraries that were ordered via inter-library loan that do not circulate can also be used in the special reading room. The special reading room is open Monday to Friday 8.00 – 18.00. Old stock deserving special protection and literature relevant under criminal law aspects (Nazi literature, works harmful to juveniles) can be used from 9.00 – 16.00 by prior appointment only. In this case you will receive a separate e-mail with more information about how to make an arrangement.

Tip: Many old collections have been digitized by libraries or other institutions and are now available online. Check beforehand the library catalogue or e.g. our search engine BASE or Google Books whether there is not already an online accessible version.

Microforms are those materials that are not in book form but are offered as roll film (microfilm) or as flat film (microfiche).

Bielefeld University Library holds extensive collections from a wide range of subject areas as well as journals, newspapers and numerous individual titles, e.g. microfilm versions of old titles from holdings of other libraries and (doctoral) theses from universities in Germany.

Regardless of their subject affiliation, microforms are stored centrally in the microform archive of the departmental library Information Sciences (U0, approval via U1). With the help of special scanners, the contents of microfilms and microfiches can be viewed and scanned pages can be saved free of charge as PDF files on USB flash drive. The staff at the service desk of the Library Services Centre (BDZ), which is located in the immediate vicinity of the microform archive, will be happy to help you operate the equipment.

Catalogues and lists provide information on the scope and content of the large collections: List of Collections (only available in german).

The individual titles can be searched in the library catalogue.

Tip: Many titles available on microform have been digitised by libraries or other departments and are now also available online. Check beforehand in the library catalogue or e.g. in our search engine BASE or Google Books whether there is already an online accessible version.

Literature that is needed directly at the workplace can be compiled in a handset by members of the university. The books in a handset must be accessible to all users during the day. For the accessibility of a handset, please refer to the regulations of the Bielefeld University Library § 10. If you need a book that is in a handset, please first check if there are further copies of the book you want to use in the library.

List of reserve collections