Fees and fines

General information on the charging of fees

Bochum University Library charges fees (late fees and administrative fees) on the basis of the scale of fees for library services. Fees may be reduced or waived in exceptional cases at the request of the user. Please send applications for a reduction or waiver of fees to:

  • via E-Mail
  • in person at the information/service desk: Mon to Fri from 8 am to 4 pm
  • by telephone: 0234 32 27214 or 0234 32 264613

Types of fees:

Late fee
  • You can find out about your loan periods and options for extending them via your library account.
  • We remind users by email 5 days before the loan period expires that an item must be returned.
  • Regardless of whether you receive the reminder email, you are responsible for your account and for adhering to the loan periods!
  • If the loan period is exceeded, fees will be charged, regardless of the receipt of a reminder.
  • If you do not return the borrowed media despite a reminder, we are entitled to initiate administrative proceedings in accordance with the Administrative Enforcement Act of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Reminder level 1 = up to 10 calendar days overdue
Late fee = 2 € per borrowed media unit
Users will be notified by e-mail.

Reminder level 2 = 11 to 20 calendar days overdue
Overdue fee = additional 3€ per borrowed media unit (total 5€ per medium)
Users will receive a reminder from us by e-mail.

Reminder level 3 = 21 to 30 calendar days overdue
Late fee = additional 5€ per borrowed media unit (total 10€ per medium)
Users will receive a reminder from us by e-mail.

Reminder level 4 = 31 to 40 calendar days overdue
Late fee = additional 10€ per borrowed media unit (total 20€ per medium)
All users will receive a reminder by e-mail. An additional return request is always sent by letter for legal reasons.

Fees for interlibrary loan requests

Interlibrary loan requests in the German Interlibrary Loan System

  • 1.50€ per order: 1 book or 1 essay (up to 20 A4 pages)
    Please note: The interlibrary loan fee is a processing fee. It is due when an order is placed - regardless of success or failure. The legal basis for this is the Interlibrary Loan Ordinance of the German Libraries: § 19.1 or Annex 5 paragraph 1.
  • The interlibrary loan fees are booked to the library account when the order is placed. Fees can be paid at the automatic pay station (EC payment only) in the University Library or by bank transfer.
  • The interlibrary loan fee must be paid within 6 weeks. The library account is automatically blocked if the fee exceeds €25.
  • RUB professors and employees can pay the interlibrary loan fees by transferring them from the budget of their university institution. Please fill out the appropriate transfer form.
  • Alternatively, this target group can obtain a transaction number (TAN) in advance to order an interlibrary loan at the information/service desk. Please also fill out the corresponding transfer form and hand it in at the information/service desk. You can also send the form to us by e-mail and then receive the TANs by e-mail.

Interlibrary loan requests in international lending

  • The fees are calculated by the supplying library. There is no binding international price list for services, but you should expect considerably higher prices than in German interlibrary loans.
Fees for loss of or damage to a book

If you have lost or damaged a borrowed item, please report this to us by e-mail or in person at the information/service desk. A corresponding commitment to pay the costs (media from the University Library / interlibrary loan) must be signed.

According to § 4 para. 5 of the user regulations, a lost or damaged book must be replaced. You can decide how you would like to replace the book:

  • Either you buy a full replacement copy and submit it
  • or you instruct the University Library to procure a replacement or to determine a replacement sum

In both cases there is an administration fee of €25.

Fees for the loss of a locker key

If you have lost a locker key (long-term locker in the stacks), please report this to us by e-mail or in person at the information/service desk. The lock of the locker in question will be replaced. There will be a charge of 35 euro. You must sign an undertaking to pay the costs.

You can decide how you would like to cover the costs:

  • Either we debit your library account with 35 euro*
  • or we send you an invoice for 35 euro

*If we debit your account with 35 euro, your library account is blocked, i.e. neither reservations nor renewals are possible. In this case, you can pay directly at the cash machine in the University Library so that your user account will be unblocked immediately. You can also transfer the fee to the RUB account:
IBAN: DE19430500010001220011 / BIC: WELADED1BOC stating the reason for payment "Replacement key for locker + LoginID".

Payment of fees

Your library account will be automatically blocked if the fee amount of 25 euro has been reached or if the fees incurred have not been paid within 6 weeks.

In order for the borrowing, renewal and reservation functions to be reactivated, you must first pay the fees at the automatic pay station (EC payment only) in the University Library or transfer the amount using the following details:

Ruhr-Universität Bochum
IBAN   DE19 4305 0001 0001 2200 11
BIC   WELADED1BOC
Verwendungszweck   Surname, First name + 1302110001*

Please note: To avoid blocking your library account, it is recommended that you pay the fees by EC card at the cash machine in the University Library, as it takes about 10 days for the transferred amount to reach the University Library.