Please plan the following dates

• 24.08.2023
  IMPORTANT: Your reservations will not be automatically transferred! Please save these titles (viewable under "My Account") and carry out the reservations again from 6 September.
• 28.08.2023
  Discontinuation of the ordering/booking option for borrowing at the UCL and discontinuation of the campus delivery service
• 31.08.2023
  Discontinuation of loan and return operations, user registration and account and payment functions
• 06.09.2023
  All services will be gradually made available again.

New library management system

Our central platform for acquisitions, cataloguing and lending is being replaced. From 6 September 2023, we will be using the cloud-based library system Alma.

The Project

As part of a state-wide project initiated by the Ministry, the cloud-based library management system Alma from the manufacturer Ex Libris will be introduced at all 42 universities in the state of NRW. The NRW-wide schedule provides for the new system to be introduced in three migration waves between March 2020 and the end of 2023.

On 6 September 2023, the library system that has been in use at the UoC for more than two decades will be replaced. The operational processes of the libraries, starting with the acquisition and verification of the holdings, to the administration in our stacks and reading rooms, the borrowing, and the creation of the indexes for the research portal for the users, must be adapted to the new system.

The change of software thus deeply interferes with all work processes and involves an effort that goes far beyond the provision of new software versions. All data must be extracted from the old system and converted into new formats. These processes are time-consuming and unfortunately lead to operational restrictions during the changeover, for which we ask for your understanding.

Information on the changeover phase (as of 12 May 2023)

During the entire period you will have access to

• the search in the library catalogue
• the online media (e-books, e-journals and databases)
• ordering articles via interlibrary loan, Ilias or subito

The UCL will remain open during the entire changeover period. The workstations will thus be available to you and you can use the open access holdings on site.

The following restrictions apply respectively from the date stated until the new system becomes operational

• 03.07.2023
  Discontinuation of interlibrary loan of books from other libraries and discontinuation of the acquisition of new media
  Stop for acquisition proposals
• 28.08.2023
  Discontinuation of the ordering/booking option for borrowing at the UCL and discontinuation of the campus delivery service
• 31.08.2023
  Discontinuation of loan and return operations, user registration and account and payment functions
• 06.09.2023
  All services will be gradually made available again.

In the libraries on campus that use computer-aided loan processing

• computer-assisted borrowing will no longer be possible from the end of August until further notice - except for three pilot libraries in the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences.
• During this time you will not have access to your user account. Lists will be provided for the affected libraries showing the loans.

In all other libraries on campus that do not use a posting system

• there are no restrictions on the use of media. Access to specialist literature is possible here as usual.

New acqusitions

From July onwards, orders for new acquisitions will be suspended as they cannot be processed technically. Please register your acquisition requests as soon as possible so that purchases can be processed before this time.

Loan periods

You will not be disadvantaged by the operating restrictions when calculating the term of the loans.

Please note:

These restrictions fall exactly in the period of term paper preparation. Plan ahead in good time.