FORMS
Frequently Asked Questions
How To Get a Library Card
Anyone aged 15 or older can register with the Central Library of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. To register, you need to visit the library in person and present a valid ID card (for Slovak citizens) or a passport along with proof of residence (for foreign nationals). If you have a chip card, please bring it with you—it will serve as your library card. If you do not have a chip card, one can be issued to you for a fee.
The library also offers the option to complete a pre-registration. To finalize a valid registration, it is necessary to visit the library in person in order to pay the registration fee and sign the application form.
What are the fees for MEMBERSHIP and DOCUMENT reservation?
Library membership costs €5 for 12 months. A reader’s library card costs €6; however, if the reader has their own chip card, they only pay the membership fee. Persons aged 65+ and holders of a disability card are entitled to a reduced annual membership fee of €2.50. Ordering and borrowing available documents is free of charge. Employees of the Slovak Academy of Sciences are exempt from fees for membership, library cards, and reservations.
How do I order or reserve documents?
Readers can request documents via the library’s online catalogue (older documents can be requested through the card catalogue).
To log in to the catalogue, reader can use their email address or their assigned ID (chip card number) and a password generated from their date of birth in reverse format (YYMMDD).
A consultation service is available daily to show readers how to work with the catalogue. If a document is currently on loan, it can be reserved. Both document reservations and requests are free of charge.
What is the loan period and how can I extend loans?
The loan period for students and users without a university degree is 30 days (up to a maximum of 90 days). The loan period for users who have completed a second-level university degree is 90 days (up to a maximum of 270 days). All users may renew borrowed documents, unless they have not been reserved by another user.
How do I borrow documents?
Books are available for pick up on the same day as they are requested, if they are held in the Klemensova storage facility. If the books are located in other storage facilities, they are available for pick up the following day around noon. Readers are notified about the availability of requested documents via email. Requested documents are held for pick up for 7 working days; after that, they are returned to storage and must be requested again.
The borrowing limit is 20 documents. Documents must be picked up in person by the reader (they may also be collected by another person with written authorization).
I need a book that is not available in the library.
If a book is not held in the library’s collection, users may request it via the interlibrary loan service. The library orders books or copies of documents only from libraries outside Bratislava. If the document is not available in any library in Slovakia, it is possible to request it from a foreign library (international interlibrary loan – ILL); this service is subject to a fee according to the current Price List.
Another way to obtain a document not held by the Central Library of the Slovak Academy of Sciences is to submit a purchase request. If the acquisitions committee decides to purchase the item, the reader is entitled to priority borrowing.
I'm experiencing problems with ordering/reserving documents.
There may be several reasons. Please check the following:
Validity of your library card – If your membership has expired, you need to visit the library in person with your ID card to renew it.
Your account – Make sure you do not have any unreturned books or outstanding fines.
Document status in the catalogue – If the document is currently on loan, you can place a reservation. Reservations are usually valid for one year.
Item category – In-library use only – the document is available only in the reading room at Klemensova 19. There is no need to place a request; staff will provide the document.