Our Services for HU First Semester Students

Guided Tours and Library Courses

Please attend our tours, courses, and webinars to become a library and research expert.

University Library Locations

The university library has 12 locations.

Please check the respective location pages for opening hours and terms of use.

Abb.: Anna Lukasek

Your Library Card / Library Account

As an HU student, your HU-Berlin Campus Card is also your library card. Registration is not required.

Charité members have the status of HU members in the University Library, but must register before using the library for the first time.

Login Procedure in the Library Account

In your library account you see your borrowed books, their loan periods and can extend them. The login is done via our website with your HU-Account.

  ⇒⇒

Internet Access at the HU and Access to the Campus Network

Humboldt-Universität participates in the eduroam initiative. Please contact the Computer and Media Service for information about the WLAN at Humboldt-Universität as well as for information about the setup assistance.

At the public computer workstations, you have full Internet access after logging in with your HU account and also access to online resources licensed by the University Library.

As a member of HU, you can also log into the HU network from home via VPN and thus access the electronic media from there.

Studying On-Site

Workstations are available at all locations, including PC workstations with Internet access, group study rooms and areas for participation in digital events.

Please also note our offers for physically impaired persons as well as for parents accompanied by their children.

Cloakrooms

Bring a padlock (diameter 5-6 mm) with you when you visit the library. Jackets and bags (including laptop bags) may not be taken into the inner areas. Only at a few locations, there are some additional lockers that can be used with the CampusCard.

Eating and drinking

Eating is not allowed in the library. Water may only be carried in transparent bottles. The cafeterias and dining facilities of the Studierendenwerk are available for food and drinks.

Scanning options

Free scanners are available at almost all locations. Please bring a USB stick with you to use them.

Borrowing and Return

The following borrowing periods apply to HU students:

• Standard loan: 28 days, renewable to 182 days
• Short-term loan: 7 days, renewable to 28 days
• Day loan: 1 day (i.e. to next working day), not renewable

You can reserve borrowed media and order magazine stocks in Primus (after prior login).

If you need a medium that we do not have in stock, you can order it via interlibrary loan or suggest it for purchase.

At the self loan machines, you log in with your user number (HUHS barcode on your Campus Card) and a four-digit PIN number.

You assign this PIN yourself in your Primus user account (in Primus click on your name in the upper right corner > "My account" > "Profile/Password/PIN" > "Change PIN/Password").

If possible, please use the self loan and return machines for borrowing and returning media.

Textbook Collection

You will find several copies of important textbooks and standard works of individual subjects in the textbook collection. As an HU student, you can borrow the books for 4 weeks. Reservations and renewals are possible.

You will find them in the Grimm-Zentrum on the ground floor on the left side and for the mathematics and science subjects in the branch library of natural sciences.

Literature Research

You can find our electronic and print stocks in the Primus search portal.

We have arranged further search accesses such as regional and national catalogues and databases for you.

If you have any questions regarding literature research, please do not hesitate to contact our service and information desks on site.

Our subject librarians will be glad to provide you with specialist information.

Webinars and Self-Study Offers

Especially for new students, we offer the webinar "Getting Started in the Library". Via Zoom you can get an introduction to library use and you can ask all questions about the library.

Please also note any subject-specific webinars. They will be announced in the "Training" section on the respective subject pages.

We also offer webinars on topics such as researching databases, literature management or scientific writing.

Please note that the webinars are generally held in German. If you wish a webinar in English (groups only), please contact fuehrungen@ub.hu-berlin.de.

On our guided tours you can get to know the UB. We will introduce you to the respective locations, library use, show you where the group study rooms are located and much more.

Or how about an interactive tour through the University Library with your smartphone? Download the Actionbound app and get started.

Our Library Video Tutorials (mostly in German) provide brief insights into important aspects of library use and research.

Contact and Help

For further detailed questions you can use our A-Z.