Frequently asked questions

The catalog is the list of all media that can be borrowed from the city library. In the catalog you can see whether the item you are looking for is available in the library, where it is located and whether the item is currently on loan.

The Onleihe is our digital library. You can borrow digital books, films and music for reading and listening with smartphones, tablets, eBook readers or PCs/laptops via the Onleihe.

Media are carriers of information in the library. This includes CDs, DVDs, magazines, newspapers and books.

Yes, the Central Library has an elevator so that all floors can be reached.

With the exception of mineral water, users of the City Library should not bring any food or drink with them. This rule may be waived for events. There is a coffee machine and tea bags on the first floor of the city library at Couvenstraße 15. Hot drinks may be consumed in the reading café and in the reading garden.

Yes, issuing or reactivating the user card costs only €10.00.

Yes, as long as the charging cables do not pose a tripping hazard.

You can store bags and clothing in our lockers for the duration of your stay in the Central Library.

To lock and unlock a locker, press your user ID card against the cylinder on the door. When the door is locked, a green ring lights up around the outside of the cylinder and the cylinder remains in the pressed position. After unlocking, the cylinder protrudes again.

There is a toilet for boys and girls in the children's library, a toilet for young people aged between 12 and 25 in the youthfactory, a ladies' toilet on the first and third floor and a men's toilet on the second floor. There is also a toilet for wheelchair users, women and men in the entrance area.

You will need a valid user pass to open these toilets. Hold this in front of the small black box next to the toilet door and pull the door just a moment later. If you have waited too long, the door will not open.

On the book bus, in the Depot and Haaren branches or at the service point on the first floor of the Central Library or online.

Persons under the age of 16 require a written declaration of consent from a parent or legal guardian.
Persons over the age of 16 need a valid photo ID or a passport with valid official proof of residence.

The issue of a user card is free of charge for children and young people under the age of 18. For young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, holders of a volunteer pass, an Aachen Pass or comparable municipal discount cards from other cities or municipalities, the pass costs €10.00. A fee of € 20.00 is charged for all other persons or institutions. Reactivation of the user pass for a further year costs the same as the cost of issuing a new pass.

The user card is valid for one year.

Please have your address/personal details changed in the library system the next time you visit the library. Please contact the service point on the ground floor of the Central Library.

On the first floor of the Central Library there are two height-adjustable self-checkout machines. To borrow media, press the green "Borrow" button on the screen, place the user card on the field in the middle, remove it again and place the media individually on the field. Please check the completeness of multi-part media. Items are checked in using radio frequency identification (RFID). To complete the booking, press the "Done/Receipt" button at the bottom right of the screen.

You cannot borrow console games, media boxes and reading backpacks for institutions and magazine books from the self-checkout desk. Please contact the service point to borrow these media.

No fees are charged for borrowing media, with the exception of those that are specifically marked as "bestsellers". For media that belong to the "bestsellers" (console games and bestselling novels), there is a lending fee of €2.00 per copy.

Books, sheet music, games, literature CDs can be borrowed for 28 days; bestsellers, magazines, music CDs, console games and DVDs can be borrowed for 14 days. The exact return date can be found on the loan receipt.

The number of media is only limited for DVDs. Only 10 DVDs from the music library, the children's library and the youthfactory may be borrowed to one user account.

No, you must apply for your own user card to borrow items from the city library.

Yes, for registered users who do not have their user card with them and can identify themselves, the fee for a one-day loan authorization is €2.00.

Yes, the fee for a day pass with authorization for one-time use of the library services and one-time borrowing of media without the possibility of renewal is € 3.00.

In principle, you can only borrow media with your own user card. The only exception is that parents may borrow media from the children's library (KiBi) for their children as long as the children are under 12 years old.

You cannot order media from the branch libraries to the Central Library.

You can extend the loan period before the loan period expires, unless the items have been reserved. The new loan period is the same as for the first loan.

• Here on the WebOPAC of the City Library or via the contact form in the ServicePortal of the City of Aachen
• By telephone during our opening hours Tel. 0241/432-38 608 (we need the following information: Surname, first name, date of birth, user card number) or of course in person at the library on presentation of your user card.

Media can be renewed twice, unless they are reserved or are bestsellers or console games. Bestsellers, magazines, music CDs, console games and DVDs can only be renewed once.

You can only return your items to the library where you borrowed them. Three return machines are available in the Central Library for returning media.

Special formats, interlibrary loans, board games, magazine books, media boxes and reading backpacks for institutions cannot be returned at the automatic return machines. Please contact the service point to return these media.

Place the media one by one in the compartment of the automatic return machine. Please wait until the light bar lights up green again before inserting the next medium. Please check multi-part media for completeness. Finally, press the "Done/Receipt" button at the bottom right of the screen.

Yes, anyone can return the media, as verification of the person is not necessary.

Yes, in the annex to the right of the main entrance of the Central Library there is an outdoor return desk which is available 24 hours a day, every day of the week. You can gain access with your user card. The area is under video surveillance for security reasons.

Place the library media on the shelf one after the other. A flap will open and you can place the media in the tray one after the other, just as with the automatic return machines. Only media from the Central Library can be returned.

Borrowed media can be reserved by you. This costs €1 per item. As soon as the medium is returned, you will be notified that you can borrow the medium.

Call up the desired item in the eLibrary and click on the "Reserve" button. You will be notified as soon as the item is available for you. This process is free of charge.

Yes, there is a pick-up station in the annex to the right of the main entrance of the Central Library which is available 24 hours a day, every day of the week. As soon as you have been informed that your pre-ordered media are available, you can collect them from the collection point. Special formats, media boxes and reading backpacks for institutions, board games, console games, Tonies and magazine books cannot be collected from the collection station. These media can only be collected from the "pick-up orders" shelf in the Central Library during opening hours. You can access the pick-up station with your user card. The area is under video surveillance for security reasons.

Hold your user ID card up to the pick-up station screen and follow the instructions. Please close the flap again after removing the media.

No, it is not possible to reserve a medium in advance for a specific period.

The interlibrary loan service of the Aachen City Library procures literature for you that is not available locally. Thanks to our access to library collections throughout Germany and abroad, we can obtain (almost) anything for you - books, sheet music, dissertations, microfilms, journal articles, etc. This service costs 2€ per order, the delivery time for books is usually 10-15 days, for articles 1-3 days. We will notify you upon arrival. You can order in person at any consultation desk or via DigiBib.

If you do not return media on time, reminder fees will be charged. These are €1.00 for children and young people up to the age of 18 for each overdue period (7 days). For adults, €1.25 is due for each overdue item. For all borrowers, a one-off reminder fee of €1.25 per media unit will be charged for the fourth overdue cycle (after the 21st day).

You will be charged a replacement or repair fee for lost or demonstrably damaged media.

Please contact the library as soon as possible to have your user card blocked. For a fee of €2.50 for children and young people up to the age of 18 and €5.00 for adults, you can have a new user card issued. For young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, holders of a volunteer pass, an Aachen Pass or comparable municipal discount cards from other cities or municipalities, the replacement card costs €2.50.

No, unfortunately that is not possible.

The magazines can be read in the magazine corner on the first floor. Library card holders can also read Sharemagazines digitally there using a free app and a mobile device.

We generally only offer subscriptions for the current and previous year. Some selected magazines (e.g. Test, Öko-Test) are also available for longer; as are the newspapers from Aachen. Ask at the advice desk on the 1st floor.

For children under the age of 12, the library offers two switches that can be used in the library. They can be collected from the KiBi advice desk in return for a valid user card as a deposit.

Yes, as long as you are between 12 and 25 years old.

Against a valid user card as a deposit at the KiBi advice desk.

Yes, there are board games for adults. You can find the games in the youthfactory. However, borrowing is limited to one game per pass.

In the music library on the 3rd floor of the city library there is a grand piano room in which there is a Yamaha concert grand piano.

Experienced pianists who are in possession of a valid library card can use this service during our opening hours.

We recommend making a reservation by telephone on 0241-43238650. We are also happy to take your requests in person at the consultation desk on the 3rd floor.
You can also drop by spontaneously and ask whether the music room is available. We cannot always guarantee timely processing of inquiries by email(musikbibliothek@mail.aachen.de). Please note that it is not possible to make a reservation without a valid library card! We kindly ask you to provide us with your library card number (see back of card) when making your reservation.

If it is foreseeable that you will not be able to use a reservation, please cancel the appointment by telephone, in person or by e-mail (see above).

No, there are no separate fees, this offer is included in the annual fee.

Other instruments and vocal accompaniment are not permitted, but four-handed playing on the grand piano is.

No, commercial use of the wing room is not permitted.

The number of hours that can be reserved is limited to a maximum of four per week. You can reserve the grand piano for one or two hours from Tue to Fri and for a maximum of one hour on Saturdays. After a successful reservation, you have direct access to the wing room. And: Bringing and eating food in the wing room is prohibited.

The magazine is not freely accessible. However, we will be happy to retrieve the desired medium from the magazine for you.

Yes, in most cases you can also borrow items from the stacks.

Many media from our non-publicly accessible stacks are marked "available to order" in the catalog. This means that you cannot access them immediately. We will retrieve the items you require from the stacks one day in advance. Simply email us your request at fernleihe@mail.aachen.de and we will inform you as soon as the item is available to view or borrow.

Yes, there are computer workstations on every floor of the Central Library where you can use all common Office programs such as Word and Excel and access the Internet.

You need a valid user ID card. The access data is the number on the user ID below the barcode and, if you have not changed it, your date of birth in the form DDMMYYY.

Internet PCs can be used free of charge.

Yes, the city library offers free WLAN. To use this, select the "HOTSPLOTS_Stadtbibliothek" network on your device. After you have clicked/tapped on "log in for free" and activated the data protection regulations, you are in the city library's WiFi.

Yes, you can print from our PCs. A black and white printout costs €0.10, a color printout €0.30.

Yes, there is a photocopier on the 1st floor. A photocopy costs €0.10. Please bring suitable change with you, as the photocopier does not give change.

Yes, there is a scanner on the 2nd floor. The scans are saved on a USB stick.

Yes, the USB stick costs €5 and can be purchased at the registration desk.

Dialogue in German takes place both in the central library and in the Depot district library.

Yes, you are welcome to arrange guided tours by telephone. You can find more information here.

The central library is located in Couvenstraße. The Depot district library is located in Talstraße. The Haaren district library is located in Mühlenstraße. The municipal library has branches in Bildchen, Kornelimünster, Oberforstbach and Walheim. The book bus also stops at various locations.

Opening hours

The opening hours of the central library do not change during the school vacations. The branch libraries and the Haaren district library are closed during the school vacations, the Depot district library has changed opening hours.

Opening hours

To the stops and opening hours