Requesting, borrowing, renewing and referring to books

Requesting books

As a member of the KB, you can request, renew and reserve books and other publications (a magazine, for example) via the online KB catalogue and at the Lending Desk. Not a member? Everyone aged 17 and above can join the KB.

The request page shows which books you can borrow and which are only for reference in the reading room. If a book is marked ‘Not loanable’, you can read the book the reading Rooms. Most of the books in the KB collection are for reference only. The KB does this to protect its unique collection of books from and about the Netherlands.

What does it say in the catalogue?	Explanation
Normal loan	You can request and borrow this publication.
Not loanable	You can request this publication and read it for 14 days in the Reading Room, but you may not take it home.
KW (at the beginning of the call number)	You can only read this publication in the Special Collections Reading Room.
LZ or NL (at the beginning of the call number)	These publications are always available for reading. You do not need to request them and you are free to take them from the shelves in the Reading Room yourself.
Blocked	These publications are very fragile. You must ask for special permission to view or read them for research purposes.

Collecting books

You are free to take books from the shelves in the reading room yourself. You can collect books that you have requested from the stacks at the lending desk inside the KB. We keep the requested books for 14 days, before sending them back to the repository.

Day requested	Time requested	Collection
Monday to Friday	before 8.30 a.m.	after 10 a.m.
Monday to Friday	before 11.30 a.m.	after 1 p.m.
Tuesday and Friday	before 2.30 p.m.	after 4 p.m.
public holidays	all day	the next day (not Saturday)

Borrowing books

Some of our books are available for borrowing. You can take them home to read for a specified period. The standard loan period is 14 days.

Borrowing periods and renewing books

You can borrow a book for 14 days after you collect it. You can renew online until a fixed loan date (12 months). If the book has been reserved by someone else in the meantime, you cannot renew it.

Returning books

There are two places to return publications that you’ve borrowed from the KB. There is a slot for depositing books at the entrance of the KB, through the revolving doors on the 1st floor. Or you can return them to the Issue Desk.

Returning a publication too late

You will be sent a reminder to return your book a few days before the borrowing period will expire. If you do not return the book swiftly after the 2nd reminder, you will be blocked and will not be allowed to request any more books until you return the book. After this, you can request books again.

Read more about our terms and conditions in the Terms of Use of the KB.

Consulting the reference books

Some of our books are for reference purposes only, not for borrowing. This means that you can read them in the KB Reading Room, but cannot take them home.

Once you have requested a book, it can be collected from the KB Lending Desk. We keep books that have been requested for 14 days,

Loans and renewals of reference books

Books that have been requested will be kept at the Lending Desk for 14 days. If you need to refer to a book for longer, you can prolong this period yourself in the KB catalogue.

Books from Special Collections

Books from Special Collections must be requested in a different way. The precise method depends on which books, and how many books, you are requesting. Talk to a member of Lending Desk staff about how long you think you will need the material.

We regularly take books out of Special Collections to be digitised. These books are temporarily unavailable. Before you come to the KB, you should always contact the Special Collections desk via +31 (0)70 3140322 (open on Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) We will check whether the books you have requested are available.

Requesting

Most publications from the Special Collections can be requested via the KB catalogue (call number with the initials 'KW'). If you submit your request before 5 pm, the books will be ready for you from 10 am at the Special Collections desk. If you want to do research and view a lot of material in a short time, please contact us about the possibilities by sending an email to @email or by calling 070-3140322 (open Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

Requesting blocked material

Most publications from the Special Collections can be requested via the KB catalogue (application number with the initials 'KW'). If you submit your request before 5 pm, the books will be ready for you from 10 am at the Special Collections desk. If you want to do research and view a lot of material in a short time, please contact us by submitting a form or by calling 070-3140322 (open Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.).