House rules

On the basis of Art. 6 para. 3 of the Allgemeine Benützungsordnung der Bayerischen Staatlichen Bibliotheken (General Regulations for the Use of the Bavarian State Libraries – ABOB) of 18 August 1993 (GVBl [Law and Ordinance Gazette] p. 635), I hereby issue the following Rules of the House:

1.1. The present Rules of the House are applicable to all buildings and grounds administrated by the BSB.

1.2. The Rules of the House are accepted as binding upon entering the grounds and/or the building.

1.3. The Director General exercises the householder's rights (Art. 6 para. 3 ABOB). He may entrust other employees of the library with the exercise of the householder's rights.

1.4. The instructions of the library staff must be complied with.

1.5. Non-compliance with instructions and breeches of the Rules of the House may lead to a permanent denial of access.

2.1. Access is granted fundamentally only to the public areas of the BSB and only during the opening hours.

2.2. Non-public areas (offices, stacks, for example) may be entered exclusively after prior registration and/or at the express request of the library staff.

2.3. All visitors have to always conduct themselves in such a manner as to avoid obstructing, exposing to danger or causing a nuisance for any other persons or hindering them pursuing their legitimate claims, and so as to avoid disturbing the library's operation. 

2.4. Library media and facilities, (technical) devices and furnishings and equipment of the BSB have to be used with care. They must not be damaged or soiled.

2.5. Bulky objects (for example bicycles, surfboards, etc.) and instruments causing noise must not be brought to the library. Baggage items must not be left unattended.

2.6. The BSB serves scholarly purposes, professional work and further education. Any use of the reading rooms, the Plaza and of the library's electronic data-processing devices that does not comply with the above mission statement is prohibited.

3.1. Clothes and objects which must not be taken into the reading rooms and the book collection area for local lending (Ortsleihe; cf. section 7.3.), can be stored in daytime lockers or permanently rentable lockers, of which a limited number is available. Daytime lockers may be used exclusively for the time of the actual stay of the user at the BSB during the day.

3.2. More detailed regulations on this are provided by the "Conditions of use for lockers".
Conditions of use for lockers in buildings of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Munich

4.1. Consuming food and drink is permitted fundamentally only in such areas which are provided for this purpose (for example the cafeteria, the lounge).

4.2. It is fundamentally prohibited to bring food or drinks into the reading rooms. The sole exception to this is the special regulation on bringing drinking water into the General Reading Room and the Periodicals Reading Room (cf. section 7.4.).

4.3. Smoking is prohibited throughout the buildings and grounds of the BSB. This regulation also encompasses e-cigarettes.

5.1. Mobile electronic devices (such as laptops, tablet PCs, smart phones, etc.) may only be used in silent operation mode. Section 2.3. is applicable in this regard.

5.2. Unoccupied, freely accessible current sockets may be used. It is prohibited to plug devices into the data outlet sockets of the BSB.

5.3. Making phone calls is permitted exclusively in the correspondingly marked areas.

6.1. Special permission is required for shooting film and television recordings as well as for taking commercial photographs of library rooms.

6.2. Taking photos of library holdings by means of your own devices is generally permitted for non-commercial purposes, provided that no flash is used, other library visitors are not distracted and the relevant legal provisions (in particular copyright, personal rights and data-protection provisions) are adhered to. This permission may be repealed or limited in individual reading rooms and accordingly marked areas. Individual media and certain collection groups may be exempt from this permission in particular for legal or conservational reasons. Using your own scanner, tripod and further photography equipment is not permitted in the reading rooms of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.

7.1. The reading rooms may be entered and left exclusively via the entrance/ exit control counters.

7.2. Maximum possible silence needs to prevail in the reading rooms. In particular, any loud and disturbing conversations, manners of conduct and noises are forbidden (e.g. when working in a group, listening to audio files without headphones or similar).

7.3. The reading rooms must not be entered with coats, outdoor jackets and/or comparable outdoor clothes, umbrellas, opaque bags, backpacks, comparable bags or containers or other bulky objects (e.g. skateboards, suitcases, pushchairs). The library staff in attendance decides at reasonable discretion whether access is granted or denied.

7.4. Pure drinking water without supplements (e.g. fruit, herbs, tea) may be brought into the General Reading Room and the Periodicals Reading Room in commercially available, transparent, sealable bottles. Bottles must always be closed accurately and placed underneath the desk (where possible).

7.5. Making phone calls is prohibited in the reading rooms. Other services (e.g. e-mail, SMS, WhatsApp, Twitter) may be used, provided that the device is muted. Section 2.3. is applicable in this regard.

7.6. Prior registration is compulsory for each visit to a reading room. For this purpose a reader pass valid at the BSB is required. At the admission control points of the respective reading rooms, the reader pass (in physical form) must be presented or, where applicable, inserted in the entrance terminals by the visitors themselves. Copies of the reader pass (in digital or paper form) are not accepted. The reader pass must be carried on the person at all times and must be submitted to the library staff upon request.

7.7. The number of reservations per person is limited. The library reserves the right to carry out random checks. Attempts of deception result in a permanent ban from using the library.

7.8. Staying in the reading rooms is permissible only on condition that visitors have a valid reading room reservation for the time in question.

7.9. It is not allowed to reserve study desks in the reading rooms for third persons.

7.10. After concluding a day's work, the study desk must be cleared and the media from the reference collection must be placed back in their shelf location indicated by the classification mark. Media ordered for consultation in the reading room must either be placed back on the book collection shelf or be returned at the return counter provided for this purpose. Any objects brought along (e.g. files) and the content of the library bags or baskets must be presented when leaving the reading rooms without special request to do so.

Guided tours, lectures or courses by third parties are fundamentally not permitted. In justifiable individual cases permission can be granted by the specialised department in charge.

9.1. Lost property has to be handed in at the custodian's office in the main building, Ludwigstrasse 16, 80539 Munich.

9.2. Arts. 978 et seq., 968 of the German Civil Code (BGB), Art. 10 et seq. of the Bavarian ordinance on the responsibilities and the procedure of the lost-property authorities and the Bavarian ordinance on the implementation of the law on lost property (Fundrecht) are applicable. Any lost property that is not retrieved will be stored correspondingly and possibly auctioned.

The BSB is entitled to install control facilities and to carry out checks and/or inspections. This is applicable in particular to work materials and items brought along and to reading room reservations.. At the request of the library staff, visitors are obliged to identify themselves by presenting a valid proof of identity (personal identification card or passport, etc.).

11.1. The BSB fundamentally does not accept liability for the loss of or damage to items brought along, in particular items stored in lockers.

11.2. Other than that, the statutory provisions are applicable.

By the exception of assistance dogs (guide or assistance dogs for persons with impaired vision or hearing, for example), it is not allowed to bring along animals. Assistance dogs must be kept leashed at all times.

13.1. Emergency services (emergency doctor, ambulance) can be called at any time, around the clock, via the main custodian's office (direct extension: 2220).

13.2. All access and exit roads, entrance, exit and through passages, staircases and marked escape routes must be kept clear at all times.

Vehicles and bicycles may be parked exclusively in the marked parking spaces or areas. Vehicles and bicycles left in a fire-brigade access road or in escape routes are removed at the owners' cost.

The present Rules of the House are effective as of 15 July 2024, replacing the Rules of the House of April 2022.

Munich, in July 2024

Dr. Klaus Ceynowa
(Director General)

The "General decree by the Director General: General transfer of the householder's rights within the sphere of responsibility of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek" is available in both German and English. Only the German version of the general decree is legally binding.