Interlibrary Loan

Are you looking for books or articles that are not available at the TUM or in other local libraries? Then use our interlibrary loan service. We provide you with literature from all over Germany and abroad.

Overview

Ordering

Delivery Time

Pickup & Download

Prices

Order Status & Deadlines

Ordering

In our online catalog OPAC, you can find more than 500 million media items from TUM as well as other academic libraries. This allows you to conveniently order literature directly, whether it is available at TUM or via interlibrary loan. The OPAC serves as the central platform for both searching and placing orders.

Start OPAC [1]

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Login and Search
Log in to OPAC using your TUM ID [2] or library number [2] and search for the literature you need.

Step 2: Order Button
Click on the desired title to open the availability display. If interlibrary loan is available, you will find the button "Order via interlibrary loan".

Step 3: Home Library
Enter the TUM location where you would like to pick up your order in the "Home Library" field. If the desired literature is available at another local library (e.g., the Bavarian State Library), you will receive a corresponding notification. In this case, you must visit that library yourself or order the literature through their local OPAC.

Step 4: Order Details
In the final step, complete any missing order details (e.g., publication year, journal volume number) and submit your order.

Didn’t find anything or not the right item?

Even if you cannot find the desired literature, you can still place an interlibrary loan request via OPAC. Click on "Tools" in the top menu bar and select the option "Open Interlibrary Loan." After choosing your home library, you can place your order using the respective button. Our interlibrary loan team will search for the material outside Bavaria and forward your request.

Terms of Use

Who can use our interlibrary loan service?

We offer interlibrary loan services to all library users, whether you study, work, or have guest status at TUM, or use the library as an external patron. Prerequisite is that you have a library account [2]. As an active TUM member, you automatically receive one. External users need a library card [3].

What can be ordered via interlibrary loan:

Books not available locally*
Articles from specialist periodicals and scientific journals
Up to 10% of books not available locally*

What cannot be ordered via interlibrary loan?

Materials available locally*, even if they are non-circulating (in other publicly accessible libraries) or currently checked out
Paperbacks available via book sellers, hobby and entertainment literature, or literature generally available for less than €15
Materials unsuitable for shipping (e.g., oversized works or highly valuable items)
Copies for commercial purposes
Copies from newspapers or popular magazines (so-called kiosk magazines)

* At TUM you can order books from other Munich libraries (e.g. the Bavarian State Library) only to Garching, Weihenstephan or Straubing. Within Munich, you must visit the other libraries yourself.

Prices

National Interlibrary Loan (free of charge)
At TUM, we offer you interlibrary loan services within Germany free of charge. Articles, papers, and e-books are available for electronic download. Physical books from other German libraries are provided to you for loan. Late returns may incur costs for media reclaim procedures.
International Interlibrary Loan (subject to charges)
For orders from abroad, prices vary depending on the country. You will always be informed about expected costs, allowing you to decide on a case-by-case basis whether you want to cover these expenses or cancel your order.

Delivery Time

Please order your interlibrary loan items in time!

Articles delivered by other Bavarian libraries are usually available within a week. For literature ordered from other German federal states, you should expect a waiting time of two weeks or more. For orders from abroad, please allow for even longer delivery times.

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: Pick up at the branch library; pickup window: 10 days
E-Books: Download link in your library account [4]: download window: 14 days
Articles: Download link in your library account [4]; download window: 40 days

Order Status & Deadlines

An overview of your interlibrary loan orders is available in your library account. Under the menu option "Requested Items, you will find corresponding links sorted by the TUM locations you specified during the ordering process.

Go to Library Account [4]

Please note:

The status display "Bestellung in Auslieferung" does not change, 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 manually hide selected orders which will be permanently.

Return Deadlines

Books and other physical media are provided to you for loan and must be returned on time. If you exceed the loan period, you risk a fee-based media reclaim procedure. An overview of return deadlines for interlibrary loans can be found in your library account under "Borrowed Items [5].

The standard loan period is four weeks, with the possibility of renewal. Borrowing conditions are determined by the owning library. If a library assigns shorter loan periods or revokes an already granted renewal, you must return interlibrary loan books ahead of schedule.

Download Deadlines

Electronic media and scanned articles are provided for download. The corresponding links can be found in your library account under "Requested Items" [6]. Download links are typically available for 14 days for e-books and 40 days for articles.