Ordering articles from journals and books via interlibrary loan has become easier. Since February 1, 2024, the library no longer provides its users with ordered articles as paper copies, but as PDFs for download. Apart from an exceptional phase during the coronavirus pandemic, this was previously not possible for legal reasons.
The new regulation has many advantages. "This is a big improvement for our users, as they no longer have to come to us to pick up an essay," says Evelyn Tidona, a member of the library's interlibrary loan team. Instead, everything can be done from the comfort of your own home: anyone who orders an essay will now receive an email with a link to download the text as a PDF once it has been processed. Users have 30 days to do this, after which the document is deleted.
As with ordering a copy of an essay, there is no loan period, so the essays are permanently available to those who order them. There is still a fee of 1 euro per order.
Evelyn Tidona also sees a reduction in workload for the library staff: "We no longer have to print out the articles, store them and dispose of them if they are not collected." The new process not only saves time, but also paper, printer ink and space in the counter area of the library.
Like the interlibrary loan service, this service is only available to FH members and not to external users. Orders can still be placed via the Digital Library (DigiBib). Further information and video instructions for researching and ordering via DigiBib can be found on the library's website: