Ordering and borrowing

The library card is located on the back of your student or staff ID card, which is designed as a multifunctional card.

Your library ID is printed below the barcode as an eleven-digit number starting with 058xxxxxxxx. You will need this to manage your library account in webOPAC, to order or renew media in webOPAC, or to borrow media from the library.

You will assign the corresponding password yourself when you log in to webOPAC for the first time.

1. Search the webOPAC (in German) for the books or sheet music you need.
2. Order the desired media via the webOPAC. For more information, see Searching and Finding.
3. Please note that delivery times vary depending on the location of the ordered media (see PDF: Overview of locations and delivery times, in German). After placing your order in webOPAC, you will be notified when the books and sheet music are ready for collection at the circulation desk under your name.
4. Collect the ordered media at the circulation desk (room A120, »Ausleihe und Rückgabe von Medien«) with your library card, return them there after the loan period has expired, or extend the loan periods in your account.
5. Ordered media remain in your library account with the status »ordered« for 10 opening days and are available at the circulation desk under your name for this period. Orders that are not picked up are automatically cancelled and returned to the stacks.

If a medium is on loan, you can reserve it in webOPAC using the »Bestellen/Vormerken« function.

As soon as the item has been returned, it will automatically be transferred to the account with the first reservation. The following day, you will receive an email informing you that the book has been set aside for you.

Reservations are free of charge at the library of the University of Music and Theatre Munich.

Loan periods vary depending on the medium and university status.

Students

• Books, sheet music, DVDs: 20 opening days
• Orchestral material (reference collection): until the third opening day after the last performance date (special loan period!)

Teachers

• Books, sheet music: 120 opening days
• DVDs: 20 opening days
• CDs (reference collection): 7 opening days
• Books, sheet music (reference collection): 7 opening days (special loan period!)
• Orchestral material (reference collection): until the 3rd opening day after the last performance date (special loan period!)

Five days before the loan period expires, you will automatically receive an email reminding you to extend the loan period in webOPAC or return the media to the library free of charge.

If the loan period is exceeded, we are legally obliged to issue a reminder charge.

You can find the fee amount under »Fees«.

You can renew loan periods yourself up to six times in webOPAC. You can renew loans yourself via your account in webOPAC at the earliest 5 opening days before the loan period expires and at the latest 16 opening days after the loan period has expired, provided that the fee limit of 5 Euro has not been exceeded and the media have not been reserved by other persons.

Loan period extensions are not possible for so-called »special loan periods«. »Special loan periods« are granted for event-related loans of choir and orchestra parts, for which the loan period is always set as the third opening day after the last event date. If necessary, please contact us informally by e-mail (bibliothek@hmtm.de).

Please return your borrowed media to the circulation desk. You will receive a return receipt upon request.

Returns are also possible after the circulation desk has closed (Monday to Thursday: from 4 PM.; Friday: from 1 PM). In this case, the reading room supervisor will accept your returns; however, the actual return will not be recorded until the next opening day. A return receipt will be sent to you by email.

Alternatively, you can return borrowed media to us by post or internal mail, provided they are well packaged and sufficiently stamped. Please enclose an informal cover letter, stating your name, address and library number.
Please use the following address:

Hochschule für Musik und Theater München
Bibliothek
Arcisstraße 12
80333 München

Please note that the university accepts no liability for items lost or damaged in the post. You are responsible for borrowed media until they have been returned to the library and removed from your borrowing account. Please allow sufficient time for postal delivery to avoid exceeding the loan period.

Reference collections are media items that cannot be borrowed and are therefore restricted to use in the reading room. These include the following collections:

• Encyclopaedias, bibliographies and reference works
• Journals
• Examination papers (diploma, bachelor’s, master’s and state examination papers)
• Collections in the course reserve collection
• Collections in the working libraries
• Choir and orchestra material (loans outside the library only for the purpose of supplying university ensembles; § 1 (9) No. 3 applies accordingly)
• Monuments and complete editions
• Sound recordings
• Loose-leaf editions
• Works published more than 100 years ago
• Endangered and particularly fragile, valuable or difficult to replace works

You are liable for compensation in the event of loss or damage to borrowed media.

Please fill out a damage or loss report (PDF, in German) immediately and submit it to the library staff. This report will initially stop the automatic generation of fee-based book return requests and prevent your user account from being blocked. We will review the case based on the damage or loss report and get back in touch with you.

Fees are charged for official library services (e.g. requests for the return of borrowed items, orders or assessments of damages, fee reminders) in accordance with the Fees Act and the Schedule of Fees (Section 1(1), Sections 6, 8 and 13 of the Fees Act; both websites in German).

Our computerised lending system will send you a non-binding email reminder to return the media five opening days before the loan period expires (subject line: »Voraberinnerung«). Nevertheless, please check your personal account in webOPAC regularly. There you will find the current, binding status of your return deadlines. If you do forget to return or extend the loan period, we are obliged to send you a reminder, for which a fee will be charged.

Fees for exceeding the loan period

• 1st reminder: 1.50 € per media item
• 2nd reminder: additional 1.50 € per media item
• 3rd reminder: additional 10.00 € per media item
• 4th reminder: additional 20.00 € per media item

The first and second reminder for the return of books and invoices will be sent by email. If no email address is available, they will be sent by post. The third and fourth reminder will always be sent by post.

Fees can only be paid in cash during the library’s opening hours.

Fee reminder

Fees that remain unpaid after 4 weeks (20 opening days) will be subject to a reminder fee in accordance with the Cost Act. In such cases, a reminder fee of 5 Euro will be charged to the fee account.

Borrowing privileges will be automatically suspended once the fee account reaches 5 Euro.

Fees for issuing replacement cards

A fee is charged for issuing replacement cards:

• Students, lecturers and employees of the university: The university administration charges a fee for issuing a replacement multifunction card.
• Honorary professors, honorary senators, young students, guest students, guest lecturers and emeriti: The library charges a fee of 5 Euro for issuing replacement library cards.
• Persons authorised to use the library as guests in accordance with § 2 (2): The library charges a fee of 5 Euro for issuing replacement library cards.

Further information on using the university library and reference libraries can be found here:

• Terms of use for the university library (PDF, in German)
• Terms of use for working libraries (PDF, in German)