How to request an interlibrary loan

If the book you are looking for is in a German library, the interlibrary loan is usually free, provided that the owning library allows it.

1. Go to the search page of the university library (https://literatursuche.ub.uni-passau.de/TouchPoint/start.do?View=upa&Language=de) and click "Anmeldung" to enter your university library account. Everybody studying or working at the University of Passau already has a library account (even though they may not be aware of it). Your username is your UB number. You find this number on the back of your university card (the same card you use in the canteen to get a discounted price). When you log in for the first time, your initial password is the day and month of your birthday (in DDMM format, four characters). Use this password to access your account and then change your password. From this library account, you can access all library services, such as electronic journals.
   
2. Now you can search the volume you are looking for. Go to https://literatursuche.ub.uni-passau.de/TouchPoint/switchHitListTab.do?View=upa&tab=tab2. Look for the book and then select the window "Verbundkatalog inkl. Ortsleihverkehr/Fernleihe". Select the book and in the "Bestellen/Vormerken" window click on "weitere Möglichkeiten". If you see message: "Fernleihbestellung: Titel im Verbund verfügbar; Fernleihbestellung nur möglich, sofern lokal NICHT vorhanden!", you can request an interlibrary loan.
   
3. Select "bestellen" and fill out the form. Under "Bemerkung", you can ask about the cost (if the book is not in a German library) or specify that you only want to order it if there is no charge to you or your department (in some cases, it is explicitly indicated that there is no cost). Finally, click on "Fernleihbestellung abschicken".
   
4. You can view all interlibrary loan requests in your account (“Konto” > “Bestellungen”).
   
5. If you do not find a title at first, you can check whether the book is in a German library. Visit https://kvk.bibliothek.kit.edu/index.html?kataloge=K10PLUS&kataloge=BVB&kataloge=NRW&kataloge=HEBIS&kataloge=HEBIS_RETRO&kataloge=KOBV_SOLR&kataloge=DDB&kataloge=STABI_BERLIN&digitalOnly=0&embedFulltitle=0&newTab=0, then insert the relevant bibliographical information and select “Deutschland” as a country. This will allow you to have complete information on how the volume is catalogued in German libraries, since the title or other pieces of information you have may not match perfectly.