To check out materials to the reading room or for home use, users need a user ID and local permission to use the library. For students of Freie Universität Berlin, a valid student ID serves as the user ID, and the student ID number is the user ID number. Other users can apply for a user ID at the front desk. The application form is available online and can be filled out first and then submitted to the checkout desk so that the user ID can be issued right away.

The user ID number or student ID number is also the log-in name (Benutzerkennung) used to log in to the online catalog and to the computers at the user desks in the reading room (‘thin clients’). In the online catalog, you can check your user account to see when materials are due, renew materials that you have checked out, see what materials you have reserved, your orders via interlibrary lending (Fernleihe), and any fees that may be due. You can also change your password and, if you are a student, enter a new e-mail address for notices from the lending system. The computer terminals offer access to all databases licensed for Freie Universität Berlin and for independent research on the Internet.

If you have questions regarding the terms of use or registering with your user ID number, please contact the library information service (Bibliothekarische Auskunft). If you have forgotten your password or lost your ID, please see the staff at the desk.