About the Library

Lending regulations

The following HU library lending regulations are valid as of September 1st 2023

Article 1 Borrowers

  1. Borrowers with a HU account (students, employees, course members) are automatically registered.
  2. Borrowers without a HU account, such as course members, alumni, former HU employees, UU students and employees, secondary school pupils, MBO students and other library users, may apply for a HU Library membershipcard by showing proof of identity.
  3. HU Library membership is free for all borrowers.
  4. All borrowers are able to log in to HUGO to view their checkouts and renew and reserve items.

Article 2 Borowing

  1. Items may be borrowed by presenting a HU student card, The HUB library card or the HUB barcode.
  2. The number of items which may be borrowed is limitless
  3. The HU library has three lending periods: 28 days, week loan and day loan.
  4. It is not permitted to lend borrowed items to third parties.
  5. Borrowing is not possible when the outstanding amount exceeds € 10

Article 3 Check in and renewal

  1. Borrowed items may be returned at both HU library locations.
  2. Day loan items must be returned before closing time.
  3. The lending period of a publication can be renewed up to 12 times. Books borrowed via ILL can be renewed up to 5 times unless recalled by the supplying library.
    Renewal is not possible in the following cases:
    – day loan items
    – material reserved by others
    – the outstanding amount exceeds € 10
    – the borrower account has expired
  4. When the lending period is exceeded, a fine will be charged, see article 4.

Article 4 Fine system

  1. If the lending period is exceeded, the HU library charges a fine of € 0.35 per item per working day. The fine for day loan items is € 2.50 per item per working day.
  2. A month after exceeding the lending period, standard replacement costs will be charged. For books this is € 45, for journals € 10 and for other materials € 25. If there is no response to this bill, administrative costs of € 5 per item will be added.
  3. When an outstanding amount is owed of € 10,00 and up, the borrower is no longer allowed to borrow, renew or reserve publications until the amount is paid.
  4. Outstanding amounts can be paid at the HU Library desk. It is also possible to pay via iDeal when the outstanding amount is € 10 or higher (or € 6,50 for ILL).

Article 5 Reservations

  1. Publications that are either available at the HU libraries or checked out can be reserved free of charge (with the exception of day loan items)
  2. Reserved items will stay on hold for 5 working days, from the date of notification.

Article 6 Borrowing at the Utrecht University Library (UUL)

  1. HU students and staff may borrow material from the Utrecht University Library on the basis of an agreement between the HU Library and the Utrecht University Library.
  2. Registration takes place individually once material is actually borrowed and not beforehand. The HU student card (for students) or the facility card ( for staff, as well as the HU Library card) and personal and address identification are required upon registration.

Article 7 Interlibrary loan (ILL)

  1. If a requested publication (book or magazine article) is not available at any of the HU libraries, it is possible to put in a request for publications or copies from magazine articles at other libraries.
  2. Requesting books and articles is free of charge for (temporary) HU employees.
  3. Other borrowers pay € 6,50 for an article and € 9,00 for a book. The costs of an interlibrary request from a library abroad are €18,00.
    Until the end of July 2024 we will reduce these prices to €4.00 for an article and €7.00 for a book.
    The rate for materials that must be requested abroad remains unchanged.

Article 8 Responsibility

  1. The person in whose name items are borrowed, remains responsible for the items.
  2. The borrower has to pay the standard replacement costs for lost or damaged items.
  3. The HU library is not responsible for damage caused by borrowed items.
  4. No rights can be derived from our notifications, these are part of the HU Library service.

Article 9 Additional provisions

  1. The HU library is responsible for protecting the borrower’s personal information, according to the rules and regulations stated in the ‘Algemene verordening gegevensbescherming’ (AVG).
  2. In cases where these regulations do not apply, the management team of the HU library will decide.

Please contact us via bibliotheek@hu.nl or 088-4817125.

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