ZBR FAQ CoVid-19

In order to prevent the further spread of COVID-19, the Central Law Library will remain closed until further notice. Since 15 July 2020, selected user groups are able to use the library to a limited extent. Find more information here. As soon as additional user groups are permitted to use the library, we will announce it on our home page.

For everyone’s protection, we must continue to adhere to certain safety measures for a while longer. We therefore ask for your patience. University members are thus asked to continue to use the campus delivery service or, if applicable, the special borrowing service.

According to the Instructions (No. 7) of 19 June 2020, we can prepare for a limited reopening of the Central Law Library. In Appendix A, you will also find provisions for libraries and University Archives.

We are working to implement these and other provisions and to adapt our internal procedures so that our users will be able to physically access the Central Law Library again as soon as possible. Please understand that for all our safety, we must coordinate all our measures and preparations with the Occupational Safety and Environmental Protection Unit before we can reopen our doors to the public.

Contact Agneta Finck(agneta.finck"AT"uni-hamburg.de), head of user services, if you have questions about the status of the Central Law Library’s reopening. From 15 July 2020, we will be reopening for selected user groups. Find more information here.

You can reach us by email at ZBR-Service"AT"uni-hamburg.de from Monday to Friday, 10 am–4 pm, and also via the contact form. During these times, you can also call us on +49 40 42838-7171.

Universität Hamburg employees and students can access full texts directly in the campus network via the VPN client or by logging with their valid library card. Please note the restrictions on remote access to the beck-online database.

Users who do not belong to Universität Hamburg but already have a library card have temporary remote access. These library cards have been activated for:

• students of publicly funded higher education institutions in Hamburg
• employees of publicly funded higher education institutions in Hamburg
• other registered users with academic interests (including members of private higher education institutions; no legal entities).

Trainee lawyers can find more information under the points “I am a trainee lawyer. How can I apply for a user login (UHH-Kennung)?” and “I am a trainee lawyer. Can I renew my user login (UHH-Kennung)?”

If you do not belong to any of these groups, contact the State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky Lending Centre, by email at auskunft"AT"sub.uni-hamburg.de or by phone on +49 40 42838-2233. 

As a member of Universität Hamburg, you can use e-media from home if you have installed the VPN client provided by the Regional Computing Center (RRZ). Please follow the installation instructions on the website. As soon as you have connected to the University network via the VPN client with your user login (UHH-Kennung), you will be able to access e-media and databases through the Central Law Library website.

Find e-media via Katalogplus as well as through this overview of legal databases and e-library services of various publishing houses. Find information on researching e-media in Katalogplus here. Learn more about the services offered by visiting the Central Law Library’s e-media overview page. 

In the middle of the COVID-19 crisis, we also have some good news for you: in reaction to the difficult situation, the publishing houses C. H. Beck, Nomos, and Tectum have decided to extend access options. Please note that this is a temporary offer. In its blog, the State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky has reported on other providers who have opened up their services.

Beck-online from 1 July 2020:

To access the beck-online database and the beck e-library from outside the University, please use beck-online home access with 2-step authentication. Find more information here.

Some providers of academic literature are now offering extended access. Take a look at the State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky blog to see whether there is something for you.

Moreover, during the period in which the building is closed, the State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky is offering a virtual walk-in service for all users who would normally use the electronic journals and e-books on-site. If you are unable to access the library remotely but have a library card, you can order literature using this form.

This service is available to all holders of a library card, an email account from a publicly funded higher education institution, or an email account from the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.

You can find help here for researching e-books, electronic journal articles, databases, and digitized collections in Katalogplus. Contact us by email(zbr-service"AT"uni-hamburg.de) if you have any further questions.

The Central Law Library is a partner of the campus delivery service (CaLief) of the State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky

Universität Hamburg students and staff can order articles and excerpts from books via the delivery service and have them delivered to the email address linked to their library account.

First, log in to Katalogplus (“> Login”), and then research the literature. You can only order articles from media for which the campus delivery service icon is displayed. Clicking on the icon will open an order form in which you have to fill in all marked fields.If you require multiple articles from 1 book or journal, please place separate orders for each article. You will be informed by email if the desired title is unavailable.

Find more information about the campus delivery service on the State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky home page.

Loans
If you need literature urgently, please order it via the campus delivery service, or use the State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky’s limited lending service from 27 April 2020. Although the textbook collection is closed there; items from the collection can be ordered and will be placed on the pickup shelves. At the moment, book loans are only possible under special borrowing conditions for examinees who are currently writing the term paper for their area of concentration and for Faculty of Law doctoral researchers. Academic staff of the Faculty of Law can also borrow media by prior arrangement.

Returns
From Monday, 18 May 2020, borrowed media can be returned to the Central Law Library from Monday to Friday, 10 am–4 pm. Please note that no fees will be due for books with loan periods that expired during the period from 13 March 2020 up to and including 26 May 2020.
To enter the building via the Rothenbaumchaussee entrance, you must have your original and valid student ID. Please observe the generally applicable hygiene rules. Wear a face mask, and keep the required minimum distance of 1.5 meters at all times.

Renewals
Lending-library books whose loan periods have not been exceeded can be renewed as usual via your library account. Please note that you cannot renew books from the Central Law Library collection and must return them immediately once the library is open. The Central Law Library is a reference library; therefore, media cannot be renewed.

Yes, you can borrow media under certain conditions. Please fill out this form. We will contact you with further information.

Please note that visitors to the library are required to wear a face mask. Please come unaccompanied; only 1 person at a time will be admitted. You must always maintain a minimum distance of 1.5 meters. If you have flu-like symptoms, please refrain from visiting the Central Law Library.

All other user groups must continue to use the campus delivery service.

Yes, from 27 April 2020, books can be ordered from the stacks again. These will then be made available for you to pick up at the State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky. Please contact the State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky Lending Centre(ausleihzentrum"AT"sub.uni-hamburg.de) if you have any further questions.

From Monday, 18 May 2020, borrowed media can be returned to the Central Law Library from Monday to Friday, 10 am–4 pm. Please note that no fees will be due for books with loan periods that expired during the period from 13 March 2020 up to and including 26 May 2020.

To enter the building via the Rothenbaumchaussee entrance, you must have your original and valid student ID. Users who are not members of Universität Hamburg must return their media to the State and University Library Hamburg Carl von Ossietzky.

Please observe the generally applicable hygiene rules. Wear a face mask, and keep the required minimum distance of 1.5 meters at all times.

If the loan period of your borrowed media ended before 13 March 2020, please contact us by email(zbr-service"AT"uni-hamburg.de), as the suspension of reminders and calculation of late fees only apply from 14 March 2020. Do not forget to provide your library card number in your email.

At the moment, we are unable to issue library cards at the Central Law Library.

However, you can have a library card issued by the State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky. Register using the online form, and then send an email to ausleihzentrum"AT"sub.uni-hamburg.de requesting to be issued a library card. New library cards, which have been issued this way since the library was closed, will be sent to by mail from Thursday, 23 April 2020.

Library card renewals are still only possible by sending an email to ausleihzentrum"AT"sub.uni-hamburg.de with scans or pictures of the required papers.

In urgent cases, a library card can be issued to Universität Hamburg academic staff even if the Central Law Library is closed. Register using the online form, and send us an email(zbr-service"AT"uni-hamburg.de).

Trainee lawyers can find more information under the point “I am a trainee lawyer. How can I apply for a user login (UHH-Kennung)?” 

All library cards that would have expired between 13 March 2020 and 30 June 2020 were automatically renewed for another 60 days. If in doubt, please check your library account.

If your card expired before 13 March 2020, email the State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky at ausleihzentrum"AT"sub.uni-hamburg.de or call the library’s hotline on +49 40 42838-2233.

We are renewing library cards by email only and thus need scans or photos of the required papers; any fees must be paid subsequently.

The lockers are managed by the Faculty of Law. Please refer to the Faculty of Law FAQ to inform yourself about the process required to gain access to your locker. You will find the necessary information under point 3, “Allgemeines/Organisatorisches” (General/organizational).

Be aware that the use of the lockers is also not permitted for those user groups now permitted to use the Central Law Library on-site.

For doctoral researchers whose workstation reservation has expired or is due to expire soon, you must email us(zbr-service"AT"uni-hamburg.de) a short message informing us WHEN your workstation expired or is due to expire and your library card number. We will then renew your workstation as usual for 6 months.

If you have reached the maximum number of renewals (totaling 3 years), we will also need a letter from your supervising professor stating that your doctoral project will continue to be supported; this can also be done by email.

On request, we will extend your workstation reservation by the period of time the library was closed.

For trainee lawyers who wish to apply for a user login (UHH-Kennung), you must fill out the Antrag auf eine neue Benutzerkennung (Application for a uni username) form, print the resulting web page as a PDF, and email us(zbr-service"AT"uni-hamburg.de) the file along with a scan or photo of your trainee lawyer ID or contract. Make sure that the information is legible. We will then take care of everything else. The user login (UHH-Kennung) will be sent to you by post within 10 working days.

Until further notice, applicants are not required to send paper applications with their signature.

Please note that a valid library card is required to apply for a user login (UHH-Kennung). If you do not yet have a library card, please register for one using the online form. Along with your application for a user login (UHH-Kennung), please also include in your email scans or photos of your identity card or any corresponding documents. We will then create a library account for you. If you are required to pay a charge for the library card according to the fee schedule (EUR 20 for 12 months, EUR 13 for 6 months, EUR 5 for 1 month), you must pay this fee at the Central Law Library Information Desk once the library has reopened in order collect your library card.

For trainee lawyers who want to renew their user login (UHH-Kennung), you must fill out the Benutzer-/UHH-Kennung verlängern (Renewing a uni username / user login [UHH-Kennung]) form, print the resulting web page as a PDF, and email us(zbr-service"AT"uni-hamburg.de) the file. Make sure that your details are legible. We will then take care of everything else.

Konica-Minolta copy cards can be returned at the copy card machine in the foyer of the State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky until August. If you have any questions regarding the copy card, send an email to uni-hamburg"AT"konicaminolta.de.

Due to the change of operator, these copy cards will no longer work. Find more information on this matter here. Due to the digital semester, the new service concept for print and copy services at the State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky and the departmental libraries has been put on hold for the time being.