External users

While you do not need a library card to read books or journal articles in the reading rooms, it is required if you wish to borrow items and make full use of our library services. Library cards are issued to external users who are registered residents of Germany or Austria.

Passau University Library consists of the Central Library (located at Innstrasse 29) and another four reading rooms in different buildings on campus (the Nikolakloster building, the Business/Economics faculty building, the Computer Science and Mathematics building and the Law Faculty building).

Map of all reading rooms (German)

You can also use the reading room of the Bavarian Regional Library Passau in Michaeligasse 11 in Passau's Old Town.

If you only wish to use the materials in the reading rooms and do not need to borrow anything, you do not need a library user card. Please observe the library regulations.

You do need a library card if you wish to borrow books and other media, use interlibrary loan, read e-books and e-journals or search databases at the search stations in the reading rooms. The library card is valid for both the University Library on campus and the Bavarian Regional Library Passau in the Old Town. Items ordered from the closed stacks can be collected and returned at either location.

How do I get a library card?

Enter your details into the library card application form. Your library card will be available for collection from the Central Library (Innstrasse 29) on the next business day. More about library cards

Disabled users may request a special pass, which is issued at the information desk of the Central Library. Please bring your identity card with you. This accessibility pass enables you to borrow items from the reading room collection for a longer period of time. For details, see information on accessibility.

The eleven-digit number on the back of the library card (starting with '064') is your library user number. With this library user number and the corresponding password, you can request media and manage your library account using the Passau Serach Portal.

The library user card is free of charge, as is the use of the library facilities. However, you may be charged for certain services, such as interlibrary loan requests, and late fees.

Search stations in the reading rooms

All reading rooms have up to three library search stations. From these stations (called 'Bib-Portal') you can access the University Library website, the Passau Search Portal and selected library search platforms in the region and beyond. Using these devices, you can also access e-books, e-journals and databases licensed for the University computer network.

For legal reasons, the other IT infrastructure (Wi-Fi and so-called 'Pool PCs) is reserved exclusively for University staff and students.

Using the library from home – access to e-books, electronic journals and databases

Members of the University can use the numerous licensed electronic offerings when they are away from the campus. To do so, they must log in using their ZIM username and password. Users who are not members of the University cannot use the library services away from campus.

Finding media available at the University Library and the Bavarian Regional Library Passau.

All books, journals, audio-visual media, e-books, e-journals, databases available or accessible in the reading rooms and stacks of the University Library of Passau are listed in the Passau Search Portal.

Please note that Passau Search Portal finds journal titles and titles of individual articles from these journals via database Primo Index Central. If you wish to look for specific articles, you should use subject databases, which can be found in the subject lists of the Database Information System (DBIS).

Reading room collections are for in-library use only

The Nikolakloster, Business/Economics, Computer Science/Mathematics and Law libraries are reference libraries, which means that books and periodicals are not available for borrowing. You can, however, borrow them overnight or over the weekends.

Locating and requesting literature that is available from libraries elsewhere

Literature which is not available from Passau University Library or the Bavarian Regional Library Passau can be ordered by interlibrary loan.