If you miss a book in our holdings, you can place an acquisition request here. All suggestions will be reviewed according to our collection profile. You will receive notice of the decision via email.

You can return every book that you lent from the FU library system at the JFKI library.

Interlibrary loan books are excluded – they have to be returned at the Library Garystraße 39.

In the reading rooms are 7 computers with internet access. Those require users to log in using their library account. Students have to use their ZEDAT credentials. You can print and save data to USB disks on all work stations. It is possible to access electronic ressources lincensed by the FU from these workstations.

Additionally there are 16 computers located in the course room that require a ZEDAT-Account to login. They can be used when there are no events scheduled (see calendar) and offer the following software:

• Microsoft Office (Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, Publisher, Word)
• PDF Creator
• VLC Media Player
• Windows Media Player
• CDBurnerXP
• GIMP
• Ghostscript
• Browser: Mozilla Firefox

Materials in course reserves may be used in the library reading rooms and checked out overnight or over the weekend.

There are 16 computers located in the course room that require a ZEDAT-Account to login. They can be used when there are no events scheduled (see calendar) and offer the following software:

• Microsoft Office (Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, Publisher, Word)
• PDF Creator
• VLC Media Player
• Windows Media Player
• CDBurnerXP
• GIMP
• Ghostscript
• Browser: Mozilla Firefox

All-round flexibility: for individual or group work, loud or quiet, on a sofa or on an armchair.

Equipment:

• movable furniture
• 2 height-adjustable tables
• large Cisco Webex board on wheels

Wheelchair users can use the back entrance (on the parking lot) at the corner of the building. Please ring the bell to inform the staff.

In the library there are elevators and restrooms for wheelchair users.

• Reading rooms with 70 places for individual study, 7 with computers for accessing the internet and electronic resources
• Multimedia room for VHS tapes, DVDs or audio material
• Reading and copy machines for microforms
• Overhead-Scanner (free of charge)
• Wireless-LAN for FU-members
• Computer room for FU members with 16 computers (access to the internet and current Office installations)
• 2 Group study rooms

• 1 Coworking room with moveable furniture and a large Cisco Webex board on wheels

The use of the library is free of charge. Fines are charged for overdue media, lost media and lost library cards. There is also a fee for interlibrary loans.

More information: Fees and Fines

You are not allowed to bring food into the library. Drinks are only allowed in resealable cups or bottles.

Book a group study room here: https://raumbuchung.ub.fu-berlin.de/jfki/

There are two group study rooms in the library. They can host groups up to eight persons. You can have undisturbed meetings in person or digitally. Both rooms are equipped with whiteboards.

Questions concerning the library will be answered

• at the Circulation Desk,
• by using our online form,
• via Email: library@jfki.fu-berlin.de or
• via phone: (030) 838-52862

If you need an item that can’t be found in the libraries of the Freie Universität, you can order it via interlibrary loan. Your order will be made available to you at the library Garystraße 39.

More information: Interlibrary Loan

Books and DVDs from the open stacks are on loan for 4 weeks and renewable.

Materials on course reserve can be used in the reading rooms of the library.

The following materials cannot be borrowed:

• Journals/Periodicals (Call numbers starting with V)
• Reference Materials (Call numbers starting with X)
• Rare materials (Call numbers starting with Z)
• Audio materials
• Slides
• Microforms (available for interlibrary loan)

Please bring only transparent bags into the library.

We offer lockers for the storage of overclothes, bags, books and other things during the opening hours of the library.

The lockers work with

• a Campuscard → please remember the locker number
• a Mensacard  → please remember the locker number
• a PIN you can choose yourself  → don’t forget your PIN and remember the locker number
• or your transponder key (if you work at FU)

Please note that the lockers are for use during the opening hours of the library only.We will clear the lockers periodically and handle all personal items we find as lost property. Library materials will be returned to the collection.

If your library card is lost please contact the circulation desk immediately to block it. You can get a new library card at the circulation desk in one of our libraries of Freie Universität.

Our media room offers facilities to watch and listen to our multimedia holdings alone or in small groups. The room is open for spontaneous use.

We offer movable storage containers to store checked-out books and other materials needed for a longer time period. Please reserve them at the circulation desk. You can use a container for four weeks, but if there are no reservations they can be used longer.

There are 16 computers located in the course room that require a ZEDAT-Account to login. They can be used when there are no events scheduled (see calendar) and offer the following software:

• Microsoft Office (Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, Publisher, Word)
• PDF Creator
• VLC Media Player
• Windows Media Player
• GIMP
• Browser: Mozilla Firefox

• Cisco Jabber

• Webex

• Stata17

• Citavi 6

• EndNote 20 with ResearchSoft Direct Export Helper

Students of the Freie Universität

Students of the Freie Universität can use their valid Campuscard to borrow and reserve media. There is no need for a separate registration.

External users

Residents of Berlin or Brandenburg and students of other universities located in Berlin or Brandenburg have to register at the circulation desk. The card is issued free of charge. The following documents are required for a registration:

• identification card or a passport
• official paper documenting the Berlin/Brandenburg residence
• for students: valid student card
• registration form of the library

Young adults who have not yet reached the age of 18 need an additional document stating the approval of one of their parents and a copy of one of their parents’ identification cards (to prove the signature in absence).

Employees of the Free University without a library card

Employees of the Free University without a library card can download a library card via the ZEDAT portal.
Please log in to the ZEDAT portal with your FU account. Click here to download the library card. After about 30 minutes the newly generated card will be synchronized with the library system. Then it will be possible to register and order media via Primo. If you want to borrow media, please bring your identity card and the printout of your library card to your first visit to one of the circulation desks of the FU libraries. 

Guests

External persons, who are not residents of Berlin or Brandenburg or do not have a student ID from a local university, can register as guests at the library. The card is issued free of charge. The following documents are required for a registration:

• identification card or a passport
• registration form of the library

Thereby you can use the PC work stations in the reading rooms and you have access to the databases and the online resources. However, the guest card can not be used to borrow items to take outside of the library, you may only borrow items within the reading rooms. Use of the library rooms, media, materials and technical equipment is generally possible without a library card.

You can renew the loan period by logging in into Primo, open "My Account" and click renew. Renewals are also possible at the circulation desk or via telephone under 030-838 52862.

The Libraries of the Freie Universität offer access to a multitude of print media, databases, e-journals and e-books etc. You can find some research tips and manuals here. The electronic resources are available to all users from the computers in the library. Members of the Freie Universität can also access them from home via VPN or Proxy. (Terms and Conditions and Access to Licensed Electronic Resources)

The University Library regularly offers specific training courses for successful research.

For more specific research help please contact library@jfki.fu-berlin.de, use our online form or ask our colleagues at the circulation desk.

A book scanner is available free of charge in the library. The scans must be saved on an USB flash drive.

There are also 2 microform scanners available free of charge. You also need an USB flash drive for saving.

We offer a guided tour every Wednesday at 2 pm.

Feel free to attend the guided tours without registration. We will meet at the circulation desk.

Please also note the extensive trainings offered by the Zentralbibliothek.

The library regulations of the University Library of the Freie Universität Berlin came into effect on July 1, 2023. They apply to all branch libraries and the central library of the University Library of the Freie Universität Berlin.

Furthermore, for the library of the John F. Kennedy Institute the appendix of local regulations applies additionally.

These regulations are only available in German.

To use the library facilities and to work with media in the reading rooms you won’t need a library card. Children and young adults under 16 need the company of an adult or the explicit permission of the head librarian.

For borrowing media and using the internet PCs in our rooms you need a library card. Residents of Berlin or Brandenburg and students of a local university are eligible for a library card.

You can borrow all books, videos and DVDs from our open stacks (see loan periods).

We don’t lend journals (Call numbers starting with V), reading room materials (Call numbers starting with X), rare materials (Call numbers starting with Z), audio materials, slides and microforms.

Wireless LAN is available almost everywhere on the FU campus. FU members and members of institutions that participate in eduroam can login to the campus network via eduroam.

Log in for FU members: ZEDAT account login

Log in for members of other institutions that use eduroam: account data of their home institution’s network

The ZEDAT provides manuals (in German language) for various operating systems.