Reserve collections

A collection is a selection of specialist and research literature that is not housed within the library premises but is instead located in academic departments or laboratories for use in research and teaching. Items in these collections are borrowed on a long-term basis by staff at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences and are not freely accessible. The borrowing conditions differ from those of a personal library account (see below).

A personal unit is set up for a single individual who has exclusive access to the media. A laboratory unit is set up so that it is available to a select group of people. Even in the case of a laboratory unit, the library designates a contact person who is responsible for the media.

Items can be returned without a library card. This can also be done by other people. You remain responsible for ensuring that items are returned correctly.

Please ensure that you first check out the items and then place them on the book trolley or in the return box.

• The loan period for media is two years and is automatically renewed every two years until you leave the service. You will be notified of the renewal by email.
• There are no fees for library accounts for devices.
• Library accounts for devices do not provide access to electronic media. Please use your personal account for this purpose.
• Interlibrary loans can only be requested from personal library accounts.
• You can view your device’s library account by logging into the PLUS catalogue. You will automatically receive two separate emails (username and initial password) the day after the account is set up. The password must be changed once on a library computer before you can log in from another PC.
• If media from student reference collections are urgently required, we will contact you by email.
• If you frequently work from home, you may also store the media from your reference collection there. This requires a locked room to prevent theft.
• The library will not carry out regular inspections. However, the library reserves the right to carry out an inspection if necessary. In such a case, you will be informed by email. If you would like the library to carry out an inspection, please arrange an appointment by emailing bibliothek@hochschule-rhein-waal.de.

If you wish to close your account and make your items available to others, simply send an informal email to bibliothek(at)hochschule-rhein-waal.de. Once all borrowed items have been returned, the library staff will be able to close your account. Please return large quantities of books at the library information desk to avoid overfilling our return box or book trolleys.

If, as a student, you urgently need a book from a collection and there are no other copies available in the library’s collection, please place a hold via the PLUS catalogue and contact us by email at bibliothek(at)hochschule-rhein-waal.de. Due to the long loan periods, it is necessary for the library to contact the person responsible for the collection directly. If the book is urgently required for the collection, it cannot be made available. In this case, you may alternatively submit a purchase request.