Services
All about membership, borrowing, placing hold requests, renewals
Library cards and day passes
UvA and HvA students do not need a separate library card. The student card is also valid as a library pass.
UvA staff may obtain a free library card from any UvA library on showing a recent pay slip and a valid ID.
Others may obtain a library card at the circulation desk of any UvA library. You must be over 18 (university students excepted) and have a permanent address in the Netherlands for at least 3 months.
You must have a valid ID, such as
- passport
- Dutch driving license
- European Union ID
- Dutch resident's permit
- student card (plus photo) of a Dutch university
The card is free for
- students and staff of Dutch universities
- staff of the Royal Library and the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences
- alumni members of the AUV
on showing a valid student card, a recent pay slip, or a valid AUV alumni card.
A library card is € 30.00 per year.
To consult books within the library you can obtain a month pass (€ 10,- ). You must have a valid ID.
If you wish to borrow from different libraries in Amsterdam, it may be advantageous to buy an AdamNet card for € 40.00 per year. This card entitles you to a free library card from the UvA library, the Public Library Amsterdam, the VU Library, the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, the Library Hogeschool INHOLLAND Amsterdam/Diemen, and the libraries of the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. New libraries are continually joining the AdamNet.
The costs for replacing a lost library card are € 5.00, replacing an AdamNet card is € 4.50. If you can show a police registration of theft of your library card, the replacement card is free.
If you are a member of another Dutch library and are interested in a publication from the UvA collections, you can hand in an ILL (Interlibrary Loan) request at your own library.
Please, notify the circulation desk of one of the UvA libraries of your change of address, loss of your month pass, library card or AdamNet card.
Borrowing and placing hold requests
The UvA library collections are housed in the closed stacks of the University Library, the book depot (IWO) and the faculty libraries.
Publications in the faculty libraries are largely placed in open stacks. They may be checked out at the circulation desk.
If a title is on loan, you can place a hold request via the UvA catalogue.
Publications from the closed stacks must always be requested via the UvA catalogue. The catalogue is freely accessible on the Internet. Books can be sent to various UvA libraries, where you may collect them after max. 36 hours.
Libraries where you can collect books from the closed stacks are:
- University Library - Singel 425
- Special collections - Oude Turfmarkt 129
- Bungehuis - Spuistraat 210
- Art history / Cultural studies - Herengracht 286
- PC Hoofthuis - Spuistraat 13
- Law library - Oudemanhuispoort 4
- Medical library - Meibergdreef 15
- Pierson Révész - Roetersstraat 10
- Bushuisbibliotheek, Kloveniersburgwal 48
- Science library - Science Park 904
This service holds only for publications which may be borrowed. Publications which must be used within the library, such as journals, may be requested via the catalogue, but must be used within the University Library. Books from before 1900 must be used within the Special Collections library.
As soon as a requested item is available for you, you will be notified by e-mail or snail mail. You can also check via My account in the catalogue if a requested title has become available for you.
Requested publications are held for you for 7 days. They may be returned at any UvA library.
Use within library
Publications from the closed stacks of the University Library, must be used in one of the University Library reading rooms. The books must be returned before the library closes.
In faculty libraries these publications must be used within that particular faculty library. In some cases library staff may request you to use the publication in a special reading room.
Hold period for requested publications
Requested publications are held for 7 days. In this period you may check out the publication at the circulation desk of the library concerned.
In libraries where the collection is meant to be consulted within the library and for publications which have a restricted loan period of 1 day only, publications are held for 1 day only. After this day your request is cancelled.
Loan period and renewal
The standard loan period is 28 days. Provided the publication has not been requested by someone else, the loan period may be renewed via My account in the catalogue.
It is not possible to renew loans by telephone.
Special short-term loan periods are:
- use within library: 1 day (the publication must be returned on the same day before closing time)
- short-term loan: 7 days (collections with set texts for exams)
Not available for loan
Some types of publication cannot be borrowed, but must be used within the library, such as
- journals and newspapers
- books over 100 years old
- reference works
- publications in reading rooms
- rare and valuable books
Publications which may not be borrowed, must be consulted in the library. In the University Library you can study them in the reading rooms, or (in the case of fragile and rare material and in case of an exceptionally large number of publications) in the Reference Centre.
Publications from before 1900, manuscripts, letters, and special editions can be requested via the catalogue and consulted in the Special Collections library.
Fines
As of 6 September 2010, the University Library and Library of the HvA have the following regulations for overdue items. In this way we hope to improve the availability of our collections for all of our patrons.
When the fixed loan period is exceeded, a fine will be charged for each overdue item.
The charges are determined by the librarian.
Three days before the due date you will receive a request to extend the loan period or to return your loan.
From the expiry date of the loan we will be sending claims:
- day 1: no fine yet, extension is still possible (1st claim)
- day 7: fine € 1, extension is still possible (2nd claim)
- day 14: fine € 4, extension is still possible (3rd claim)
- day 28: fine € 10, extension is not possible (4th claim).
The fines are per volume and are accumulative: after 28 days you have accrued a fine of € 15 per volume.
Day 56: you receive an invoice for replacement costs with a minimum of € 75 per volume. If you return the loan, the replacement costs are cancelled, but not the fine. If you do not pay the invoice, a debt-collecting agency will be called in.
The above schedule holds only for publications with a loan period of 14 or 28 days. For publications with a loan period of 1, 2 or 7 days and for Interlibrary Loans claims will be sent on the 1st, 4th, 7th and 14th day after expiry of the loan period. The invoice will be sent on day 42.
Publications with a loan period of 1 or 2 days cannot be extended.
The loan period of Interlibrary Loans cannot be extended via the UvA catalogue. A request may be sent before the loan period has expired by e-mail to ibl-uba@uva.nl. We will then contact the supplying library to see if an extension is possible.
In principle, claims and other messages will be sent by e-mail. If you do not have an e-mail address, you will receive the claims by ordinary post.
No rights can be derived from not having received a claim.
Fines are not cancelled when a loan is returned.
When you have a fine of € 15 or more, you can no longer borrow publications or extend other loans. This suspension is cancelled on payment of the fine.
Fines may be paid at the library desk of any UvA library. In the University Library and the P.C. Hoofthuis Library you can pay by PIN or chip only.
UBA book depot IWO
Part of the UvA collections, among which the journal and newspaper collections, are housed in the UBA book depot IWO in Amsterdam Zuidoost.
There is a reading room where publications may be consulted, as well as a photocopier. Publications may requested from the depot via the catalogue.
Publications for use within the library only, can be collected from the Red circulation room in the University Library Reference Centre the following working day after 13.00. Publications which may be borrowed, can be sent to a UvA library of your choice, and are available within max. 36 hours.
Large formats (newspapers, etc.) and requests for exceptionally large numbers of journal volumes must be consulted in the UBA book depot itself. Online requests for this material are usually not accepted. For exceptions to this rule, please contact the library staff at the Reference desk of the University Library.
Library user regulations August 2011
Suggestions and/ ord complaints University Library