Discovery Service

Kiel University Library’s Discovery Service is the modern alternative to the traditional main catalogue. It aims to make it easier for you to get started in new topical fields. On top of the inventory at Kiel University Library, in the Discovery Service you can also look through the stocks of the Common Library Network, the south-west German library association and other collections within the K10plus-Zentral platform.This covers over 200 million data sets (printed and electronic articles, books and journals).

Just like in the traditional main catalogue, access to the user account is integrated in the Discovery Service. The only thing that is different is the locations that are displayed. The following abbreviations are used in the Discovery Service: ZB: Zentralbibliothek / Central Library, ZwB: Zweigbibliothek Medizin /Medical Branch Library, FB: Fachbibliothek / specialised departmental library, UG: Untergeschoss / basement

Do you need help using the Discovery Service? The following services might be useful:

•  detailed search tips
•  video tutorial: Discovery Service and traditional library catalogue - 2 routes to literature at Kiel University Library

Union Catalogue

Kiel University Library’s main Union Catalogue records:

• the book inventory at the Central Library as well as the specialised departmental libraries (the latter at least as from 1993, sometimes older)
• the university's journal inventory (only a selection of articles)
• campus-wide access to electronic media

A search in our Union Catalogue will give you information about available media and how to lend them. You will have access to your user account, which you can use to renew and reserve items and order media.

Do you need support in dealing with the classic Union Catalogue? Or would you like to specify your search? The following video tutorials can help you with this:

•  Discovery-Service und Klassischer Bibliothekskatalog - 2 Wege zur Literatur in der UB Kiel
•  Suche nach einem bestimmten Medium im Katalog
•  Thematische Suche

Union Catalogues of Scientific Libraries

In addition to the Union Catalogue and the Discovery Service of Kiel University Library, there are other catalogues that can be of interest for research and literature procurement:

Regional catalogues:

Regional Catalogue of Kiel
The Regional Catalogue of Kiel lists the inventories of the following facilities:

• Kiel University Library
• Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek (State Library)
• ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, Kiel and Hamburg
• Library of the University of Applied Sciences in Kiel
• Library of the Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Kiel
• GEOMAR Library at the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
• Research Institute of the German Armed Forces for Underwater Acoustics and Geophysics (FWG)
• Kiel City Archives
• PTI Nordkirche Library Schleswig-Holstein
• Library of the Institute for Quality Development of Schools in Schleswig-Holstein (IQSH), Kronshagen.

Nationwide catalogues:

Union Catalogue (GVK) of the Common Library Network (GBV):
The stocks of over 1,000 libraries in Germany (from the GBV and SWB) are available for research in the GVK. Via this catalogue you also have access to the online interlibrary loan service or the subito document delivery service.

Would you like to know more about interlibrary loans and the document delivery services? Then find out more here:

•  interlibrary loans & video tutorial "interlibrary loans"
•  direct delivery services, "subito" document delivery service & subito ordering instructions

In addition to the GBV, there are five other German union catalogues:

•  BVB (Bavaria)
•  HBZ (North Rhine-Westphalia)
•  HeBIS (Hesse/Rhine-Hesse)
•  KOBV (Berlin/Brandenburg)
•  SWB (Baden-Württemberg/Saxony)

Common Library Network (GBV) databases
Under the GBV databases you can find a range of research tools of the Common Library Network (GBV), such as

• online contents (across different disciplines and for individual special subject collections),
• local and specific catalogues, and
• additional database services (article databases, national databases and bibliographies, databases with national alliances, databases for public libraries, …).

KVK - Karlsruhe Virtual Catalog
It is possible to conduct a parallel search in the KVK of the online catalogues of German and international libraries and library associations, as well as book trade databases.

Magazine database (ZDB)
The ZDB lists nationwide print and online journals (no articles!) with library holdings in German libraries.

International Union Catalogue:

WorldCat
WorldCat is the largest international union catalogue with more than 80 million entries. Participants are predominantly North American libraries.