Preliminary information

If you already have a library card but no access to the DNB’s personalised services as yet, please log in using your library card number and the following password: your date of birth in the format DD.MM.YYYY.

You must complete a one-off registration process to obtain personalised access to the German National Library and make use of the various services it offers. Registration is free of charge.

Once you have registered successfully, you can have the following services enabled:

• Use of the reading rooms
• Interfaces (free of charge: SRU, OAI, data shop)
• Deposits of online publications (free of charge)

You do NOT have to register to use the following:

• the catalogue
• the web pages

Registration

Please use the registration form obtain personalised access. Please confirm your registration through your e-mail address (this step is not necessary if you register on site).

Activation of individual services

Once you have set up your personalised access, you can have various services provided by the German National Library activated in your account:

• Using the reading rooms
• Interfaces (SRU, OAI, data shop)
• Deposits of online publications

Using the reading rooms

In order to use the German National Library, you will need a free library card that will be issued at our registration desk on site when you present a valid ID card or passport together with official confirmation of your place of residence. The German National Library is purely a reference library, i.e. you cannot take the books home. Media you have researched in our catalogue can only be viewed on site.

Media for which no reading room location is given must be ordered in advance. If you wish to order media in the reading room so that they are directly available when you visit, please have the “Use of the reading rooms” service activated.

Use of the reading rooms in Leipzig and Frankfurt encompasses the following services:

• Access to the German National Library's holdings
• Use of the holdings in the reading room
• Use of the wi-fi and the stationary internet computers
• Use of other facilities in the reading room, e.g. pre-installed electronic publications, computer workstations, copiers etc.

You will find detailed information on using the Library in the frequently asked questions (FAQ) for the Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main locations.

If you have no e-mail address or wish to request a corporate card, please contact:

General information about access data

Change your personal data:

Here you can view and change your personal data. This function is not available if your account has been enabled for use of the reading rooms. In this case, your data can only be changed on site.

Change your password:

Please take note of the password guidelines when changing your password:
your password must contain at least 6 characters and may not contain more than 15. Numbers and special characters are permitted; attention must be paid to the use of upper and lower case letters.

Delete access:

You can have your access deleted by clicking on the “Delete access” button. In order to avoid extra work, you should only delete your access if you will not be using the German National Library for a long time. Your account will only be deleted irrevocably when all outstanding transactions have been completed.

Further information if your account has been enabled for use of the reading rooms:

Location:

For technical reasons, you can only ever have your account enabled for one location (Leipzig or Frankfurt am Main). You are welcome to change your home location at any time. To do this, please contact:

Your current location is shown in your access data.

Library card validity:

Use of the German National Library is free of charge.
The Administrative Council has decided to suspend general user fees for a trial phase from 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2025. Fees that have already been paid will not be reimbursed.

After you are approved for use of the reading rooms, you will have a provisional user account via which you can already order media for use in the reading room. You can collect your library card when you register on site – to do so, you will be required to present your personal ID card or passport. If using the latter, you will also need an official confirmation of your home address.

You will be able to access the Library for the six months following the expiry of your library card. You can continue ordering media during this period. However, you fill first have to extend your library card on site before you can view the media you have ordered. Your access will be deleted automatically after more than six months of inactivity.

Log-in information

For users who already have log-in data:

• You can use both your e-mail address and your user number as your user name. Both alternatives are valid.
• If you have forgotten your password, click on Request password to have a new password sent to your e-mail address.

For users with library cards but no log-in data:

• If you already have a library card but no log-in data as yet, please log in using your library card number and the following password: your date of birth in the format DD.MM.YYYY
• If you are using a corporate card (i.e. one not linked to a date of birth), please also enter your library card number as the password. You should then change this password for security reasons.

For new users:

If you do not have a library card as yet, you can register here and have your account enabled for use of the reading rooms.

Account overview showing your borrowed works, orders and reservations

This option is only available if your account has been enabled for use of the reading rooms.

Go to Borrowed works to check and extend the deadlines for returning the works you have borrowed – this is only possible if the work in question has not been reserved. The deadlines for returning the works are:

• from order date: 14 days
• 1st renewal: 14 days
• 2nd renewal: 14 days

Go to Orders to see when you placed an order. Orders that have not been viewed are returned to the stacks after 7 days. Orders cannot be cancelled.

Go to Reservations to cancel works you have reserved if you no longer need them. When a reserved work is returned, it is automatically moved to your orders and you have 7 days in which to view it.

If you have provided an e-mail address, you will receive messages relating to your borrowed works, reservations, return deadlines etc. If you have not yet provided an e-mail address and wish to do so, please contact the information desk at the Library.