Your library card
Registering to use the library
1. Fill out the online registration form and submit it. If you do not have Internet access you can fill out the form at one of the HAW libraries.
2. Come to one of the libraries and show us your
- ID card
OR - your passport and your residence certificate.
HAW Hamburg members (students, instructors and staff) need to have their chip card with them; HAW Hamburg alumni need to have their alumni card.
If you are entitled to a fee discount, please bring the necessary supporting documentation.
If you are between 16 and 18 years old, you can obtain a library card if you bring a completed and signed declaration of consent from your parents. You can download the form here: declaration of parental consent (in German only)
Using your chip card as your library card
Since summer semester 2009 the HAW Hamburg chip card has also served as the library card for all HAW Hamburg members (students, instructors and staff). Your electronic student ID card (also known as your chip card) is still valid as your library card. Please keep it and continue to use it for this purpose (updated: March 2023).
How can you have your chip card set up for library use?
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If you already have a HAW library card, you can hand it in to one of the libraries and have your library account transferred to your chip card.
You don't have a HAW chip card?
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Please note that if you are a member of HAW Hamburg you need a chip card to borrow books from the HAW libraries or work on the library computers.
If you are an external user, you are not eligible for a chip card and can continue to use your library card. If you do not have a library card, you can register to set up an account and receive a library card.
Using your alumni card as a library card
All HAW Hamburg alumni can use their alumni card as a library card. To activate the library card function please bring your alumni card and your personal ID card or passport (together with your residence certificate) to one of the libraries. If you have (or had) a HAW library card or your chip card was activated for library use, please also bring this card with you.
The alumni card does not entitle you to use Hamburg's other academic libraries.
Borrowing from other Hamburg libraries
The annual or monthly fees you pay to the University Information and Library Service entitle you to borrow at no additional cost from the following academic libraries in Hamburg during the same period (you may need to also obtain a library card from the indvidual library):
Hamburg State and University Library (SUB)
Library card fees
Library cards with reduced fee
Students of public universities in Germany, academic staff of public Hamburg universities, | No charge |
Secondary school students | No charge |
Individuals currently completing an apprenticeship, military service or volunteer civil service; recipients of Arbeitslosengeld I or II unemployment benefits (annual library card) | €5 |
To receive a reduced fee, you must present one of the following:
HAW Hamburg chip card |
Student card from a public university in Germany |
HAW Hamburg employee ID |
HAW Hamburg alumni card |
Proof of another justification for a fee reduction, such as the receipt of state benefits pursuant to SGB II (ALG II) and SGB XII or employment in an apprenticeship position, military service or volunteer civil service |
Library cards without reduced fee
Annual library card | €30 |
Six-month library card | €18 |
Monthly library card | €10 |
Annual library card for law firms and legal organisations | €120 |
Please pay the fees using your EC (debit) card.
Extending your library card
Library cards without reduced fees are valid for one year, six months, or one month, depending on the price. |
Library cards with reduced fees are generally issued for one year. |
Newly issued library cards or chip cards for HAW Hamburg students are valid for four years. They can then be extended for one year upon presentation of a valid chip card. |
Alumni cards are activated for library use for one year at a time. To activate your card for an additional year, please present your alumni card and your personal ID or passport (together with your residence certificate) in one of the libraries. |
Reminder email
We will send you an automatic reminder that your library card is about to expire by email so that you can renew it on time. To do this, we must have your current email address. To renew your card, please bring the necessary documents to one of our libraries. These documents, and the renewal fee, will generally be the same as what was required for the initial registration.