Regulations for Use

(1) Use of the ULB is subject to approval. Approval establishes a patron relationship under public law between the patron and the ULB, the content of which is governed by these Regulations.

(2) In addition to members and affiliates of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (hereinafter: HHU), members and affiliates of other universities in Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Business School and academics from other universities in Germany and abroad during their stay as HHU guests are eligible for approval. Approval follows on the basis of a registration.

(3) Other persons with permanent residence in the Federal Republic of Germany shall be approved upon application.

(4) Registrations and applications shall be made in person. Applicants must present their German identity cards, or their passports and confirmations of registration from the Residence Registration Office (Einwohnermeldeamt), which must not be older than 1 year, in addition, students must also present their student card. Affiliates of the university staff who are not listed in the current course catalogue must submit proof of employment at HHU. Guests must submit a certificate from HHU or one of its institutes.

(5) A library card is handed out upon approval. The card is not transferable. Loss of the card must be reported to the ULB immediately.

(6) Every patron is obliged to comply with the provisions of the Regulations for Use.

(7) Minors who belong to the groups of persons mentioned in paras. 2–3 require the signature of their legal representatives to submit their application, or registration for approval.

(8) The ULB uses the email address received upon enrolment for communication with HHU students (Section 4 (5)(b) and Section 6 (2) of the Enrolment Regulations of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf dated 28 February 2007). Other email addresses are not permitted.

(9) The ULB may demand a directly enforceable guarantee as security from persons named in paragraph 3. Affiliates of the ULB are not allowed to act as guarantors. The ULB may demand that the guarantee declaration be officially certified.

(10) Patron approval may be limited in time and restricted to use within the library premises.

(11) The obligations arising from the patron relationship shall continue to exist after its termination.

 (1) The greatest degree of consideration possible must be shown and any disturbance avoided in the interest of all patrons.

(2) The Director of the ULB shall exercise domiciliary rights within the library premises (Section 18 (1), sentences 4 and 5 of the Law on Universities (HG)) on the basis of Section 2 of the House Rules of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf of 6 December 2016. The Director may instruct the ULB staff to exercise domiciliary rights. Patrons must follow the instructions of the library and security staff.

(3) Patrons shall identify themselves upon request.

(4) Eating and drinking is only permitted in the foyer of the Central Library and in the anterooms of the decentralised facilities. There is a general ban on smoking throughout the ULB. Animals may not be brought into the ULB.

(5) Coats, umbrellas, bags, luggage, etc. must be deposited in the lockers. The Locker Regulations apply.

(6) The library and security staff may inspect any containers brought into the library. The patron must present the media he/she has brought with him/her at the control points.

(7) The ULB is not liable for the loss of or damage to any objects brought into the ULB by a patron, or for damage caused by incorrect, incomplete, omitted or delayed use.

(8) Patrons must treat the media they use as well as other objects belonging to the ULB (catalogues, data processing equipment, furniture, etc.) with care and protect them from any damage or soiling. Making any notes, inserts and underlining in any ULB media is prohibited.

(9) In the event of loss, damage or non-return of any ULB media, compensation must be provided regardless of any fees charged. In this regard, see Section 6 of these Regulations for Use and the relevant legal bases.

The use of the Internet and comparable communication technologies is regulated by separate terms of use (see Annex 1) geregelt.

(1) The levying of fees and the reimbursement of special expenses as well as compensation for damage pursuant to Section 4 (9) of these Regulations for Use shall be governed by the Fee Regulations as amended from time to time.

(2) The collection of the fees and expenses determined at the ULB’s discretion shall be governed by the Administrative Enforcement Law of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, as amended from time to time.

 (1) The opening hours are set by the Director of the ULB. They are announced in the course catalogue and in other appropriate ways.

(2) The ULB may be closed for special reasons. Closures will be announced well in advance if possible.

(1) The holdings of the ULB can be used in the rooms provided for this purpose (reference use).

(2) The patron takes the freely accessible holdings from the shelves himself/herself. The patron is obliged to return these items to their location immediately after use, at the latest before leaving the ULB.

(3) Any intentional misplacement of media is prohibited and is considered a serious violation of the Regulations for Use. See Section 22 (1).

(4) The media placed in the library’s closed stacks can be requested for use in the reading rooms. These media will be kept available for further use upon request, but only subject to the usual lending conditions (Section 9).

(5) In justified cases, access to the closed stacks may be permitted.

 (1) Media that do not fall under the restriction of Section 10 may be borrowed for use outside the library rooms. The library card must be presented for each loan. The ULB may request that the patron present his/her identity card.

(2) Media which are provided as loans on presentation of a borrowing card are deemed to have been borrowed by or for the holder of the library card; he/she is liable for returning these media regardless of whether or not he/she is at fault.

(3) The patron is obliged to check the loan receipt for correctness and completeness of the information.

(4) The patron may be excluded from borrowing as long as he/she is in arrears with the payment of overdue loan fees or with the return of media for which reminders have been sent several times, or as long as he/she has not informed the ULB of a change in his/her address.

(5) Media from the holdings of the branch libraries may not be used without the corresponding proof in the booking system.

 (1) The following items may not be lent:

1. media from the in-house collections of the Central Library, the Medical
   Department, the branch libraries and special collections;
2. manuscripts, old prints and autographs;
3. plates, maps, atlases and sheet music;
4. microforms;
5. media of particular value;
6. unbound media, newspapers, loose-leaf editions;
7. typescript university publications;
8. media from course collections;
9. items from the textbook collection may not be lent to persons who are not members or affiliates of a State-supported higher education institution pursuant to Section 1 of the Framework Law on Higher Education (HRG). This does not apply to the holdings of the law textbook collection, which can only be borrowed by members and affiliates of Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences or Düsseldorf Business School.

(2) The ULB may exclude further media from use where this appears objectively necessary.

(3) The use of certain media shall also be restricted if legal regulations or the rights of third parties so require.

(4) Reference-only media may be loaned on a short-term basis in justified cases.

(5) Media of special value may only be consulted in the Special Reading Room under supervision. The patron must present his/her library card and identity card or passport.

(6) The ULB may limit the number of items that can be borrowed by a patron.

 (1) The loan periods and renewal options are determined by the Director of the ULB in consultation with the Standing Commission for the ULB.

(2) The deadlines of the lending libraries apply to interlibrary loans.

(3) The ULB may reclaim an item even before the loan period has expired if it is needed for official purposes, in particular for revision.

(4) For overdue fees, see Section 6 of these Regulations for Use and the relevant legal bases.

 (1) Borrowed media can be reserved for loan.

(2) The patron will be informed as soon as the item reserved for him/her is available. It will be held at the circulation desk for 7 calendar days after the notification date.

(3) For the reservation fees, see Section 6 of these Regulations for Use and the relevant legal bases.

(1) Requested items must be collected in person as a rule. The person collecting the item must identify him/herself. If an authorised person collects the media, he/she must present the identity card or student card of the person requesting the media or a power of attorney. See Section 9 (1), sentence 2.

(2) As a rule, there shall be no delivery by post. Exceptions require justification. The patron shall bear the costs and risk of the shipments.

 (1) Media of the Central Library, the Medical Department and the Law Library are returned at the respective circulation counters or by dropping into the book return boxes (see para. 3).

(2) Media from the branch libraries and special collections must be returned to the library where the loan was recorded.

(3) The patron will receive a receipt upon returning the media. The patron is obliged to check the return receipts for correctness and completeness of the information. If the items are deposited in the book return boxes (or in exceptional cases sent by post), return receipts will neither be kept nor sent.

 (1) Students of HHU, Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences or Düsseldorf Business School will only receive the ULB’s discharge stamp for de-registration when they have returned all their borrowed items and when the ULB has no other claims against them.

(2) The ULB may also grant a discharge even if it still has a claim arising from the patron relationship provided that a guarantor is available or other appropriate security has been furnished, unless the patron relationship continues in another form.

(3) For the other members and affiliates of the higher education institutions in Düsseldorf, the patron relationship shall end when the respective patron leaves the higher education institution, unless the relationship continues in another form.

(4) For patrons who are not members or affiliates of a higher education institution in Düsseldorf, the patron relationship shall end if they no longer have a permanent place of residence in the Federal Republic of Germany.

 (1) For courses at the HHU, items from the Central Library, insofar as they do not belong to the in-house collections, and from the branch libraries can be compiled into course collections in the rooms of the ULB for the duration of a semester.

 (1) Items required for academic purposes which are not available locally may be requested from another library by way of a German interlibrary loan arranged through ULB.

(2) The patron is obliged to provide accurate bibliographical information. Requests with incomplete information may be rejected.

(3) The loan shall be subject to the provisions of the Interlibrary Loan Regulations for German Libraries as amended from time to time and the special conditions of the lending library. The library card must be presented upon collection of the item.

(4) Items which cannot be found in German libraries may be requested from foreign libraries as international interlibrary loans.

(5) External loans only take place, as a rule:

1. to German libraries within the framework of German interlibrary loans;
2. to foreign libraries within the framework of international interlibrary loans.

(6) For the fees, see the Loan Regulations of 8 March 2004 and the Decree of the Ministry for Science and Research of 8 June 2005: “Application of the Loan Regulations of 19 September 2003 (LVO) and Regulations on Reimbursement of expenses”.

 (1) The catalogues, bibliographical aids and reference works in hard copy and electronic form are available to patrons to obtain information and compile lists of literature.

(2) On the basis of these aids, oral, telephone and written information shall also be provided subject to the staffing and technical conditions, but only to the extent that the patron cannot be expected to carry out his/her own searches or does not have the possibility of contacting a nearby library.

(3) For the fees, see Section 6 of these Regulations for Use and the relevant legal bases.

 (1) The ULB offers online searches in special databases for a fee. Pre-registration is required as a rule.

(2) The ULB reserves the right to refuse or cancel a search if this appears objectively necessary, in particular if the search is not justifiable for economic, technical or staffing reasons. Patrons are not entitled to access and use specific databases.

(3) The searches shall be carried out carefully and to the best of our knowledge according to the information provided by the patron. No guarantee is given for the completeness and quality of the result.

(4) Upon receiving the search result, the patron is responsible for observing existing copyrights, conditions and Regulations.

(5) For the fees, see Section 6 of these Regulations for Use and the relevant legal bases.

 (1) Upon request, the ULB shall make reproductions of its holdings or arrange for orders to be placed  with third parties.

(2) For reimbursement of special expenses, see Section 6 of these Regulations for Use and the relevant legal bases.

(3) The ULB reserves the right to refuse an order if this appears objectively necessary, in particular if the condition of the original does not permit reproduction or if copyright infringement is to be expected.

(4) Observance of existing copyrights within the scope of the copying services is basically the responsibility of the patron who, in case of doubt, must prove his/her entitlement at the request of the ULB. The ULB accepts no liability for any misuse of existing copyrights. If a claim is made against the ULB by a third party for infringement of copyright provisions, the patron is obliged to indemnify the university.

 (1) Manuscripts, old prints and rare media can be consulted in the Special Reading Room. Pre-registration is required as a rule.

(2) Insofar as media owned by the City of Düsseldorf are concerned, their conditions of use must be observed.

(3) The prior consent of the ULB must always be obtained to make any copies of manuscripts, old prints and rare media.

(4) The patron undertakes to inform the ULB of any publication based on the manuscripts and old prints.

 (1) Anyone who violates these Regulations or disturbs the order of the ULB in any other way may be temporarily or permanently excluded from use or restricted in use by the Director of the ULB.

(2) The person concerned shall be heard beforehand.

(3) The obligations arising from his/her use of the ULB shall remain unaffected.

(4) The exclusion shall take the form of a written notice stating the reasons. The decision shall be accompanied by an advice on appeal.

These Regulations shall enter into force on the day following their publication in the Official Bulletin of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.

0. General recitals

These Regulations for Use supplement the ULB Regulations for Use of 3 June 2004.
These Regulations for Use refer to the currently applicable principles and recommendations of the Centre for Information and Media Technology (ZIM) of HHU, the German National Research and Education Network and the Centres for Communication and Information Processing.

1. Exclusion of the ULB’s liability towards Internet service providers

The ULB is not liable for:

• violations of copyright, licensing rights and copyright regulations by patrons;
• consequences of contractual obligations between patrons and Internet service providers, in particular not for financial obligations resulting from orders or use of paid services.

2. Exclusion of the ULB’s liability towards patrons

The ULB is not liable for:

• damage incurred by patrons based on incorrect content of the media used by them;
• damage to files and media carriers incurred by patrons due to using the library workstations and the media provided there;
• damage incurred by patrons due to any misuse of data by a third party due to insufficient data protection on the Internet.

3. Exclusion of the ULB’s warranty towards patrons

The ULB excludes any warranty with respect to:

• functionality of the hardware and software provided by the ULB, in particular for self-service tasks; and
• availability of information and media made accessible by the ULB at these workstations.

4. Compliance with criminal law provisions

The patrons agree to:

• observe the legal regulations of the criminal laws and the Law on Youth Protection and neither use nor disseminate illegal information at the computer workstations;
• refrain from manipulating with any files or programmes of the ULB or third parties;
• not use any protected data;
• use data and files on floppy disks, CD-ROMs, DVDs, video or audio cassettes and other data carriers only for their own academic use, make copies and compilations only for their own use without pursuing any commercial purposes, and keep the data carriers secure after each use.

5. Patron liability

The patrons agree to:

• bear the costs of repairing any damage caused by using the ULB’s devices and media;
• not disclose access information to third parties; and
• bear all damages incurred by passing on their access information to third parties.

6. Technical restrictions on use

The following is not permitted:

• changes to workstation and network configurations;
• fixing technical faults independently;
• installation of programmes at the workstations from data carriers brought by the patrons or from the network unless other regulations have been expressly laid down;
• use of own data carriers on devices that are not expressly approved for the relevant purpose.

The ULB is entitled to prevent access to websites that do not correspond to the intended use as defined by the ULB (e.g. chat websites and others).

7. Organisational rules of use

Unless regulated otherwise, the following requirements apply to the use of workstations with Internet access:

• minimum age of 18 years;
• personal registration of the patron;
• compliance with time or program-related restrictions of use after the expiry of a guaranteed time period at the individual workstation. The ULB may limit the time of use and free up occupied workstations for other patrons. In this respect, university affiliates are given preference over other patrons.

8. Obligation to comply with these regulations on use and the relevant sanction measures

• By registering for using an Internet workstation or by receiving an approval to use the library, patrons undertake to recognise and observe these Regulations for Use.
• The ULB may restrict the patrons’ data protection rights to the necessary extent, insofar as these relate to the use of the ULB, for the purpose of avoiding claims for damages and liability.
• The ULB may prevent access to services that violate any provisions on data protection, protection of minors or the Criminal Code. In the event of such violations, the ULB may use the access protocols as evidence within the technical and legal possibilities available. Collected data will be deleted pursuant to the legal regulations.
• In case of repeated misuse or repeated failure to comply with these provisions and recommendations, the ULB’s Director may exclude the patron either completely or temporarily after a prior hearing, and this is without prejudice to other sanctions set out in the Regulations for Use.