Help

• Simple search
  • Search terms are case-insensitive.
  • Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT (please mind case-sensitivity) may be used.
  • Several search terms set in quotation marks (for example "Aberdeen Daily News"), will trigger a phrase search.
  • By using the drop-down menu right to the search field, queries may be restricted to a specific search-index (for example title or corporate body).
  • Search results may be narrowed down by the use of specific filters.
• Operators and wildcards

  Objective of your search		Operator*
  All search terms should appear in the title record Example: Haus AND Garten Only title records containing both entered terms will be searched for.		AND UND
  One or another term should appear in the title Example: Haus OR Garten Title records containing either the term Haus or Garten or both terms will be searched for		OR ODER
  A particular term should not appear in the title record Example: Haus NOT Garten The term Haus should always appear in title records searched for in this manner but never the term Garten.		NOT NICHT
  Wild card character for any number of characters Example: fähr* Titles containing the keywords Fähre, Fährte, Fährbrücke etc. will be found		*
  Wild card character for exactly one character Beispiel: fähr?e Titles with the keyword Fährte will be found, but not Fähre, Fährbrücke etc.		?

• Search fields

  Standard search fields	Description
  All fields	The search will be performed over all fields
  Title keywords	Title keywords
  Title exact	Searches for the exact wording of a title. The title does not need to be entered in full, alternatively the wildcard * can be used.
  Corporate body	Keywords from names of corporate bodies.
  ISSN	ISSN = International Standard Serial Number. The ISSN may be entered with or without a hyphen
  Place of publication	Keywords from places of publishers
  Place of distribution newspapers	Keywords from places of distribution (Note: places of distribution and places of publication may, but need not be identical.
  CQL-Syntax (Experte)	You may formulate queries using CQL syntax
  Additional fields in the advanced search
  Publisher	Keywords from publishers’ names.
  Standard numbers	Any identifier or number relating to a specific item. Note that a separate index for ISSN is available.
  DDC	DDC subject goups used in the ZDB.. An overview of the DDC classes may be here
  ZDB-ID	ZDB Identifier of a title record
  IDN	PPN (PICA-Identifier)
  Country of publication	You may either enter the country name or the 4-digit code of DIN-EN-ISO 3166-1:1998.
  Person	Keywords from personal names, for example names of editors
  Library	You can search with keywords from library names. Result: all titles that are in stock of a library

• Advanced search

  Search fields may be combined in the advanced search.

  Example: title Katze AND place of publication Nürnberg

  Clicking the plus sign behind a search field will add more search fields.

  Pending digitisation acitivties of German libraries, may be located by a simple tick box.

  By activating the tick box “Newspapers” you can restrict your search to newspapers.
  
  

  Expert search (CQL-syntax)

  Preset search fields are not used for expert searches. Search requests have to be entered using CQL-syntax (CQL = Contextual Query Language). Operators and wildcards may be used.
  
  
  The following CQL-syntax is supported:

  Search field		CQL-syntax
  All fields Title keywords Title exact Corporate body ISSN Place of publication Publisher Standard numbers DDC Place of distribution (newspapers) ZDB-ID IDN Country of publication Person Document type Language Frequency Special subject collections First year of publication Last year of publication Library code Shelfmark Item-ID ISIL Interlibrary loan region Location of library Library		all= tit= tst= koe= iss= ort= ver= num= dcz= voz= zdb= idn= ela= per= dok= spr= erf= ssg= eje= ejl= sig= sgn= eid= isl= lvr= ins= bib=

• Sorting search results

  Search results will automatically be sorted alphabetically by title. The menu “Sorting” additionally enables sorting by first year of publication.

• Filters

  Filters	Description
  Year of publication	Time period „from“ –„to“. When searching for a specific year, „from“ and „to“ have to be set to the same value.
  Online available free of charge	Search results will be restricted to those titles being freely available online.
  Language	Multiple selection possible.
  Country of publication	Multiple selection possible.
  Media type	There are several forms of media types: print, online, CD/DVD, microform, maps, sheet music, sound carriers, videos, braille.
  Frequency	Frequency of publication, e.g. daily, weekly, monthly etc.
  Format	There are the several types of publications: newspaper, journal, series.
  Digitisation	True layout: Prints were scanned and image files were generated. Master: A digital master file (raw version of the digital file resp. the original file) is available. Planned: The digitisation of a journal or newspaper is intended.
  Place of distribution newspaper	Places of distribution exclusively of newspapers. Note that the attributes of this filter are restricted to 2.000 to ensure adequate performance.

• Search history and watch list

  You will find the links “Search history” and “Watch list” on top of the website, on the right.

  The search history shows the queries you have performed so far, how these were formulated and how many results were found. When clicking on a particular query, the search will be performed again.

  In the watch list you may collect title records in order to view them again at a later stage. Titles may be added to the watch list by clicking on the bookmark icon combined with a plus . When clicking on the icon with a minus sign after selection, the title will be deleted from the watch list.

  It is possible to export titles from the watch list for provision via email or as a txt-download.

  When closing your browser session, all entries in the search history and the watch list will be automatically deleted.

• Information on individual titles

  When clicking on a title in a results list, a full view of that particular title record will be displayed offering further information like availability, parallel editions, related titles and supplements via the tabs “Title history” and “Title relations”.

  Export of title data

  It is possible to export titles from the full view representation for provision via email or as a txt-download via the button "options".

  Other data formats

  For title and holdings information select the metadata format MARC21xml. Title information is also available as JSON-LD, Turtle, and RDF/XML. All formats are available from the full view representation via the button “options”.

• Availability of publications

  The availability of a specific publication may easily be checked via the "Holdings" tab in the full view: here you will find an alphabetically sorted list (sorting by interlibrary loan region and ISIL may be manually selected) of all libraries that own the respective publication. “Details for all” will display the holdings of all libraries in question, while clicking the arrow on the right side of each line will inform you about the holdings of a chosen library.A click on the i-icon will display the library on a geographical map and the respective contact details.

  By using the menu on the left-hand side (holdings filter), you may search the holdings for a specific annual volumes. Filtering results by a specific place or an interlibrary loan region is also possible.

  Please note: If you do not find the desired annual volume in the ZDB, you should still check the catalogues of individual libraries that have reported holdings of a particular publication, since there is a slight chance that only the local catalogues offer the details holdings information.

  This restriction also applies to the following functions: Information on titles, holdings and libraries can only be displayed if the data are available in machine-readable form.

  When using the tab Holdings overview, you may easily identify where specific volumes and issues of publications are available. Under the default setting the four libraries with the largest holdings are displayed if less than 50 libraries have holdings. You may add more libraries with the menu Libraries.

  The Holdings map informs about the geographical distribution of holdings of a specific title. You can change the content by zooming or scrolling the time bar.

  The Title history provides a graphical representation of the development of a specific title and supplements over time.

  The Title relations graphically illustrates related publications. A click on any of the titles will trigger a corresponding title search.

• Copy ordering

  Ordering of journal articles

  Copies of articles may be obtained directly via the ZDB-OPAC. Please check firstly the availability of a specific article in a library of your hometown. In such cases an interlibrary loan will not be executed. The document delivery service Subito will still accept your order but will charge much higher fees than the conventional ILL service.

  What is the difference between interlibrary loan and the document delivery service Subito?

  1. Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

  Only registered users of a library can place interlibrary loan orders. Your regional library or the electronic interlibrary loan system decides which library will be asked for the missing media. You will not become a client of another library. Your own library account will be charged with the respective service fee.

  2. Document Delivery Service Subito,

  Anyone can use this service following online registration. After submitting an order, a list of libraries that own the desired resource is displayed . You may then select a library and will become a direct customer of this library.

• Delivery services

  Delivery service	Informationen about the service provider	Preconditions	Price	Payments	Time of delivery	Delivery
  Subito	Document delivery service of scientific libraries in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and China.	None. Free registration required.	Differs according to user group and type of delivery starting at 5 Euro per article.	Monthly invoice	Within 3 work days, express delivery (an extra fee will be applicable) within 1 work day	Copies: Mail, fax or e-mail Books: Mail
  BVB	Bavarian Library Network (BVB)	Library card of a participating BVB library.	At least 1,50 € fee per request. Prices vary according to the length of an article. Additional fees claimed by the respective libraries may occur.	vary by library	1-2 weeks.	The documents will be delivered to your library
  DigiBib	Digital Library North Rhine-Westphalia	Library card of a participating GBV library and registration for online interlibrary loan.
  GBV	Common Library Network of the German States Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thüringen and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.	Library card of a participating GBV library and registration for online interlibrary loan.
  HeBIS	Hessian library network (HeBIS)	Library card of a participating HeBIS library and registration for online interlibrary loan.
  kobv	KOBV library network of libraries in Berlin and Brandenburg.	Library card of a participating KOBV library and registration for online interlibrary loan

• FAQ - Frequently asked questions

  Question: Can I search for articles in the ZDB catalogue?
  Answer: No, the ZDB catalogue does not contain any references of single articles.

  Question: Can I restrict my search to journals being available online?
  Answer: Yes, a corresponding filter is available.

  Question: Do I also find daily newspapers in the catalogue?
  Antwort: Yes, daily papers are included and may be located by using the filter (publication) Frequency and chosing “daily”.

  If you require more information or would like to make any suggestions, please contact the [email protected]. We will be pleased to help.