Consulting books at the VUB, ULB and Royal library (KB)

The VUB and ULB reading rooms in Etterbeek (excluding the Medical libraries) are within walking distance of each other (15 to 20 minutes). In addition both libraries have made arrangements for reciprocal use of their collections. The Royal library Albert I (KB) is situated in the centre of Brussels, but can be reached by public transport. Together the three libraries have a collection of more than 5 million books, so there is every likelihood that you will find what you are looking for. To avoid unnecessary transfers prior consultation of the VUB/ULB/KB-catalogues or Unicat is recommended.

The reading rooms of the VUB and ULB library are accessible for all readers who observe the library rules. Registration and an annual fee are required to use the Royal library (no lending: on the spot consultation only).

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Consulting the catalogues

It is advisable to consult the catalogues of aforementioned libraries in advance in order to ensure yourself that the material you wish to consult or borrow indeed is available in the library. In the VUB-catalogue and the ULB-catalogue you can check whether certain works may well be lent. For reference works (such as dictionaries and encyclopedias) for example it's not possible. Not all materials are also easily accessible. Some works were purchased by departments or academic units and universities and are managed by them.

In the KB-catalogue you won't find information on the availability of the works, considering the fact that KB does not allow you to borrow works. You should also keep in mind that - with the exception of Belgian publications or publications of Belgians abroad - only acquisitions since 1985 are listed in the web catalog, ie about 1 million books from the 4 million owned and managed by the KB. Older works should be searched in the KB card catalog.

An alternative to separately consulting the aforementioned catalogs is Unicat. In this comprehensive catalog of Belgian scientific libraries (which includes the catalogs of VUB, ULB and the KB) information about ownership and availability can be provided. You can find a detailed user guide here.

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Borrowing books at the ULB and VUB

Only registered students and staff may borrow books in the VUB and ULB libraries. Registration may be done at the loan desks of the reading rooms of the Medical library (Jette) and Central library (Etterbeek). As for the VUB the registration requirements are described here. Registered VUB library users may also borrow books from the ULB-library and vice versa, of course, provided they respect regulations of that library. To avoid unnecessary transfers, prior consultation of the respective catalogues is recommended: especially the holdings information.

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Using inter-library lending

When a book is not available in one of the three libraries, use of inter-library lending (ILL) is recommended. The Central library and Medical library of the VUB offers inter-library lending services. To borrow a book or article through ILL, you should formulate an online request. This request includes bibliographic information and personal information about the applicant. An ILL request may also be done via the ILL desk of the library. You must be registered in the library of the university to make use of the ILL-service. It is also recommended to use Unicat to formulate an ILL request. When the book cannot be found in Unicat, the user may use the ILL Self Service . Once the request has been transmitted to the ILL service, the library will inform you electronically about further dispatching. As soon as the book has arrived, the user is invited to collect it from the library.

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