University Information and Library Service (HIBS) University Information and Library Service (HIBS)

When you use the HAW catalogue, you can view your borrowing account via your user account (under 'Account login' at the top-right side of the screen).

Your account number is printed under the barcode on your library card. If you use your chip card as your library card, your user number is printed on the back of the card. 

The initial password is always the first three letters of your last name (lower case). Umlauts are written with letters (e.g. 'mue' for Müller).

You can find more information on the Your user account page.

To reset your password, click on the 'Account login' button at the top right of the HAW catalogue page, then click on 'Forgot password' in the login window.

The loan period for a book from the university libraries is four weeks. It is then possible to extend your loan three times, each time for a period of four weeks. The new return date will be based on the date of the extension request.

Students with a disability or a chronic illness can be granted longer loan periods to compensate for disadvantages. You can find more information in this leaflet (in German only)Information about the HAW Hamburg's University Information and Library Service Terms of Use  for students with a disability or chronic illness

It is not possible to extend the loan of a library item if

• another library user has reserved the book,
• the loan period has already expired, or
• the loan period has already been extended three times.

In these cases you are required to return the book. You can do this in each of the HAW libraries, regardless of where you borrowed the book.

In all other cases you can extend your loan online via the HAW catalogue.

Please take the books that you want to borrow from the shelves and bring them to the loans desk to be checked out. Alternatively, you can check the books out at one of the self-service checkout stations.

In order to borrow books you need a HAW Hamburg library card or a chip card that is also set up to function as a library card. More information about the library card

Many journals and a number of books are part of the reference collection and are unfortunately not available for loan. Items that are reserved for a particular seminar and are therefore part of the professor's semester syllabus can also usually not be borrowed. However, it is generally possible to borrow these items overnight or over the weekend. If you have additional questions, please contact the loans desk of the library in question.

Yes. If you are unable to pick up library items in person, please give the person who will be picking them up your library card or your chip card (activated for use as a library card) and a completed and signed form authorising them to pick up library items (signed no more than seven days previously).

HAW Hamburg professors can borrow a maximum of 100 books. The limit for professors from other universities, HAW Hamburg students and students from other public universities in Hamburg is 50 books. All other users, including HAW Hamburg alumni, can borrow up to 20 books.

When you borrow a book from the university libraries, the intial loan period is four weeks (28 days). Students with a disability or a chronic illness can be granted longer loan periods to compensate for disadvantages. You can find more information in this leaflet (in German only)
Information about the HAW Hamburg's University Information and Library Service Terms of Use for students with a disability or chronic illness

You can view the due dates for items you have borrowed in your user account. You will usually receive an automatically generated reminder of the due date three days before the library items are due. We must have your current email address on file for this to take place.

If you have missed the due date, you will receive an overdue notice by email. Overdue fees will have already been charged at this point.

These automatically generated emails are a service of the University Information and Library Service. Users are still responsible for returning borrowed items on time.

If you do not return borrowed items by the due date you will be charged an overdue fee. You can find more information on the Fees page.

You will usually receive an automatically generated reminder of the due date three days before the library items are due. We must have your current email address on file for this to take place.

If you have missed the due date, you will receive an overdue notice by email. Overdue fees will have already been charged at this point.

These automatically generated emails are a service of the University Information and Library Service. Users are still responsible for returning borrowed items on time.

The loan period for a book can usually be extended three times. Please note that the new return date will be based on the date of the extension request.

You can extend your loan online via the HAW catalogue.

It is not possible to extend the loan period for a library item if

• another library user has reserved the book,
• the loan period has already expired, or
• the loan period has already been extended three times.

In these cases you are required to return the book. You can do this in each of the HAW libraries, regardless of where you borrowed the book.

Do you want to borrow a book that another user has taken out of the library? You can reserve it using the HAW catalogue. The link for reserving a book is visible under 'loan status' for the item in question.

As soon as the book is returned, we will reserve it for you. We will also inform you via email that it has been returned. You can then pick it up from the library, where it will be held for up to seven days. This service is free of charge.

You may also cancel a reservation if you no longer need a particular item.

Do you want to borrow a book from another HAW library but don't have time to pick it up yourself? It is possible to order it via the HAW catalogue. You can then pick it up at the HAW library of your choice roughly three days later. This service is free of charge. Please note that you can only order a maximum of five books at one time.

Reference items and books that are currently on loan are excluded from this service.