Borrow
Leiden University Libraries (UBL) owns over 5 million paper materials. Loanable items can be picked up and returned at the UBL library location of your choice.
Request, or fetch from the shelf?
A major part of the libraries' collections is placed in closed stacks, which are not accessible for library visitors. To be able to borrow or consult these items, they need to be requested using the catalogue.
Loanable items placed in open shelves within the library, can either be requested or fetched directly from the shelf and borrowed at the desk.
Library card
To be able to borrow UBL library materials, a valid library account and library card (the LU-Card) is needed. By using our services, users agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the UBL circulation policy.
The standard loan period for library materials is 3 weeks. The library will automatically renew your loans, in 3-week periods, provided the maximum loan period has not been reached and items have not been reserved by another user. The maximum number of materials to have checked out is 50.
For physical materials, the catalogue will state the policy for each individual item.
Once signed in using your ULCN account, the loan policy will show right underneath the item's availability status at the 'Get it' section. Items that can be checked out will show the policy 'Regular Loan' or 'Loanable'.
Books and journals published prior to 1900, reference works, manuscripts and valuable, rare, fragile or loose-leaf materials may not be borrowed. Most of these items can be requested using the catalogue, for consultation at the Special Collections Reading Room. For these materials, there is no option to choose another pick-up location.
Reading room items
Items shelved in the University Library's reading room areas, the Wijnhaven Library and the Middle Eastern Library, among others, are non-circulating. These items can be fetched from the shelf, to be consulted within the library. In the catalogue, the 'Locate' button will indicate in which library or reading room the item is shelved.
Many films and documentaries on DVD may only be borrowed by teaching staff, to be used in an educational setting. These items have a 'Library use only' policy but can be taken out by staff for a 3 day period. All others can use these DVDs in the library only.
Request and pick-up
Upon requesting loanable library materials in the catalogue, please choose the UBL pick-up location of your choice from the drop-down menu.
Delivery times may vary, according to the selected library and the day and time of your request. The library will send an email notice as soon as an item is ready for pick-up.
Request statuses
The status of your requests and reservations can be monitored in ‘My Requests' in the catalogue.
| 'In Process' | Your request is being / is about to be fetched by our staff |
| 'Not Started. Place in queue is: [...]' | A reserved item is still on loan; your request is number [...] in line |
| 'On Hold Shelf until [end hold date]' | The item is ready to be picked up. Items will be kept available for pick-up for 5 days |