Access to e-books, e-journals, and academic databases from the THA library

The THA Library offers you extensive digital resources for your studies, continuing education, teaching, and research: e-books, scholarly articles, and other reputable academic sources from licensed academic databases and publisher portals.

Due to licensing restrictions, guests may access licensed academic databases and publisher portals only on-site at the library’s computers.

THA members can access these and other digital resources from anywhere (see the student intranet or the staff intranet for more information).

License and terms of use

The databases may only be used for personal and non-commercial purposes (academic research, research, teaching). Sharing content with third parties is not permitted. Systematic downloading of electronic resources or search results is prohibited. Please note the German Copyright Act (UrhG) and the respective license terms.

Details on the terms of use

Quick access to popular databases

Direct link to the database.
For more databases and full usage details, see Databases A-Z

Databases by material type

Databases can contain a wide variety of resources. Select what you're looking for here and find the appropriate search portals.

Daily newspapers
DatabaseQuick Facts
Financial Times ArchiveAll issues of the “Financial Times” from 1888 to 2006 (DFG National License) [more info]
PressreaderDaily newspapers from around the world (including the Augsburger Allgemeine) [more info]
WISO PressNewspapers from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (including Die Zeit) [more info]
DBISAdditional portals for freely available digital newspapers and newspaper archives

Databases A–Z

Here you will find a list of all the library's licensed databases, arranged alphabetically by name.

ACM Digital Library

Publications of the Association for Computing Machinery

Fields of Study

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Mechatronics
  • Measurement and Control Engineering
  • Computer Science

Licensed Content

  • Journals, magazines, and newsletters from the Special Interest Groups (SIG)
  • Conference proceedings
  • References: “The ACM Guide to Computing Literature”

Baugeräteliste

Database of all common types of equipment for construction and construction site setup (as of 2025)

Click on “AUTOLOGIN” to begin your search.
Only 3 people can use the database at the same time; therefore, once you have finished your search, please free up access for the next user by clicking the little man icon in the upper right corner and logging out.

Fields of Study

  • Civil Engineering

Licensed Content

  • All common types and sizes of equipment used for construction and site setup
  • The individual entries contain average technical and economic values, supplemented by explanations regarding design, equipment, and operational use

Not included:

  • Construction site equipment
  • Tools
  • Brand names
  • Model designations

Library Catalog

Through "Articles and More," you can also access journal articles, research reports, and other content from the library's databases. 

For more information on searching the library catalog, click here.

Building Types Online

Research on issues in design and building theory

Areas of Expertise

  • Architecture
  • Civil Engineering

Licensed Content

  • Selected publications from Birkhäuser’s renowned architecture program
  • A wide selection of contemporary architectural projects: residential and office buildings, schools, industrial buildings, museums, libraries, religious buildings, and other building types
  • Includes approximately 5,000 plans (largely vector-based and to scale) and approximately 2,000 photos
  • Fundamental texts provide background information on individual building types or explain their specific aspects, such as lighting design, acoustics, urban planning issues, site development, or planning processes.

    The dataset was frozen as of December 31, 2024 (no updates will be licensed starting in 2025)

Content Select

Selected e-books from the publishers Beltz, Campus, Kohlhammer, Lambertus, as well as O'Reilly, VDE, and mitp.
German-language journals on education, social work, and the social sciences from Beltz-Juventa.

Subject Areas

  • Civil Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Design
  • Computer Science
  • Psychology
  • Social Work
  • Economics

Licensed Content - E-Books

Licensed content—journals from Beltz Juventa, e.g.

Database Information System (DBIS)

Directory of Scientific Databases

Subject Areas

  • Interdisciplinary

Licensed Content

  • Searching in DBIS is free of charge. 
  • Clicking “→ Go to Database” will redirect you to the corresponding resource—licenses may be required in some cases.
  • DBIS contains both databases that are freely accessible online and those licensed by THA, which can only be accessed on computers at the library.

There is an alphabetical list and a list organized by subject area for the databases included in the directory. You can filter the subject area list by:

  • Access type: free on the web / campus network
  • Database type (address directory, dissertation directory, image database, etc.)

You can also find out about database access options outside of the THA campus licenses:

De Gruyter Brill

Approximately 1,400 selected licensed e-books from the publishers Oldenbourg, De Gruyter, Birkhäuser, DETAIL, and Transcript. Also includes numerous open-access e-books and e-journals.

Subject Areas

  • Architecture
  • Chemistry
  • Design
  • History
  • Computer Science
  • Art
  • Materials Science
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Law
  • Social Sciences
  • Engineering
  • Economics
  • including

Licensed content and open access content:

  • Numerous e-books: chapter-by-chapter downloads as PDFs; in some cases, the entire book is also available in EPUB format
  • E-journals (Open Access and national licenses)
  • Reference work: Religion and Urbanity Online (explores the relationship between religion and architecture/urban planning and the question of how the two have influenced one another)

DETAIL digital

An online knowledge platform for architecture, construction and planning.

The platform offers

  • the digital edition of the trade journal DETAIL
  • comprehensive building documentation from design through to structural detail: over 5,500 documented projects featuring images, plans, structural drawings and technical information. Search functions and filter options by building type, material, year of construction or DETAIL issue theme.
  • the latest specialist articles, interviews and debates on architecture, construction, technology and sustainability
  • the DETAIL podcast ‘HALBZEUG’, project videos and other digital formats.

Specialized Fields

  • Architecture
  • Construction

Licensed Content

  • All regular and special issues of DETAIL (green, structure, Konzept, inside, landscape) featuring the “Projects” and “Expertise” sections are included in the database (page numbers match those of the print edition).
  • The “Products” section, which is usually found in the last third of the printed issues, is NOT included.

EBbook Central (ProQuest)

A wide selection of licensed e-books and open-access e-books from various publishers on a wide range of topics (approx. 4,700 titles)

 

Electrochemical Power Sources

An interdisciplinary reference work on batteries, fuel cells, electrolyzers, supercapacitors, and photoelectrochemical cells.

Fields of Study

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Chemistry
  • Materials Science
  • Physics
  • Environmental Sciences

Licensed Content

  • Comprehensive reference work containing all technical articles

Electronic Journal Library (EZB)

Electronic academic journals. Interdisciplinary and international. Search by subject area or title.

A “traffic light system” indicates whether and how you can access the full texts of journals:

  • green => free access (approx. 37,000 journals freely available online!)
  • yellow => licensed access on library computers on-site
  • yellow and red => licensed access to some, but not all, issues of the journal
  • red => no access

Emerald Insight

Emerald offers English-language e-books and e-journals in the field of economics

Subject Areas

  • Economics

Licensed Content

Through national licenses, you have access to selected journals, books, and studies from the database covering the years 1991–2023.

 

Financial Times Archive (1888–2006)

A national license provides access to the Financial Times archive from 1888 to 2006. 
The Financial Times Historical Archive includes the complete content of all print editions of the “Financial Times” from 1888 to 2006.

The archive also includes the supplements “Financial Times Magazine” and “How to Spend It.” 

The content can be searched in full text. At the same time, each individual issue can be searched separately.

Subject Areas

  • Current Events
  • Politics
  • Economics

Hanser eLibrary

E-books from Hanser Publishing

Subject Areas

  • Civil Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Design
  • Plastics Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Mathematics
  • Natural Sciences
  • Quality Management
  • Economics

Licensed Content

  • Access to approximately 510 selected e-books (download the entire book or individual chapters as PDFs)
  • Licensed content is indicated by the green padlock next to the title

ibr online

Database on Real Estate and Construction Law (Architecture & Engineering Law, Real Estate Development Law, Insurance Law, Public Environmental Law, Public Procurement Law, Expert Witness Law, Real Estate Law)

Areas of Expertise

  • Architecture
  • Construction
  • Law

Licensed Content

Licensed for 5 concurrent users; if all sessions are in use, please try again later

  • News
  • Judgments
  • Laws
  • Reading Room (selected legal commentaries and e-books)
  • Resources
  • Resources, Calculation Tools
  • Construction encyclopedias

IEEE

Publications (full texts) from the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and the IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology), as well as conference proceedings from VDE-Verlag. Also, e-books from Wiley and De Gruyter on AI, data science, and cybersecurity, as well as MIT Press e-books.

Subject Areas

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Computer Science, Data Science, Cybersecurity
  • AI
  • Mechatronics
  • Technology/Engineering

Licensed Content

NOT licensed: Draft standards

Good to Know

  • Simple Search and Search within Results only search metadata (including plural forms, alternative spellings, and verb forms of the search term) (NO full-text search!)
  • Full-text search is only available in Advanced Search; to use it, check the box next to “Full text.”
  • More Search Tips

IET Digital Library

E-books from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)

Subject Areas

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Mechatronics
  • Engineering in General
  • Energy Engineering (Mechanical Engineering/Process Engineering)

Licensed content: E-books from 2009–2014 

inlibra

E-books from various publishers, including

  • Nomos (Social Work and Social Economy)
  • Velbrück, Psychosozial-Verlag (sociology, psychology)
  • Beck, Vahlen, uvk, Schäffer-Poeschel (Economics and Law)

Licensed journals (selection):

Subject Areas

  • Social Work, Social Economy, Psychology
  • Business Administration, Economics, Public Economics, Corporate Management, Cost Accounting
  • Mechanical Engineering

E-books and articles can be printed or saved chapter by chapter as PDF files.

Kohlhammer eLibrary

A selection of e-books from Kohlhammer Publishing, primarily on the topics of social work and psychology

Subject Areas

  • Social Work
  • Psychology

Licensed Content

You have access to selected e-books (as of 07/2026: 123). Licensed titles are marked with an icon showing a green open padlock

Nautos

DIN standards (DIN, DIN EN, DIN ISO), ISO standards, VDI guidelines, and the DWA regulations. 

Standards Info Point: You can view standards on a computer in the library (however, saving, printing, photographing, or similar actions are not permitted).

Subject Areas

  • Architecture
  • Construction
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Economics

Licensed content

  • All valid German DIN standards (DIN, DIN EN, DIN ISO)
  • All valid international ISO standards
  • VDI guidelines
  • the DWA code of practice
  • The database is updated monthly.

Not licensed: 

  • Standards from other (foreign) standards organizations
  • English translations of the DWA code of practice, DWA thematic volumes, and DVWK rules

License Terms: 

Use of the standards is permitted only for personal use. Distribution to third parties is prohibited.

Good to know:

  • Having trouble loading the full texts? If only the four “loading dots” appear when you try to open a full text, but the full text doesn’t open or an error message appears, it may help to delete nautos cookies from your browser. 
    Instructions for Mozilla Firefox:
    • Enter the following URL in the browser address bar: about:preferences#privacy
    • Scroll down a bit until you see “Cookies and Website Data”
    • Click “Manage Data”
    • Search for "nautos," select it, and delete the selected items
    • Then restart the browser
  • You can access the full text by clicking the blue icon in the “Document” column of the search results list. You can then download the standard as a PDF.
  • If you click on the DIN designation, you’ll see a brief description of the standard. From this page, you can access the full text by clicking the blue “View Document” button in the upper right corner.
  • Withdrawn standards (old DIN versions without full-text PDFs, identified by a white X in a red circle and/or the update status “H”) can be requested from the library as paper copies at no cost.
  • Do not use your browser’s “Back” button; instead, use the website’s internal navigation.
  • The customization options shown in the FAQ (favorites, templates, etc.) are disabled in the Campus version.

Video Tutorial: Simple Search

Tutorial: Einfache Suche in nautos

Video Tutorial: Advanced Search

Tutorial: Erweiterte Suche in nautos

nwb

Publications from nwb Publishing on Business & Law

Subject Areas

  • Law
  • Economics

licensed content

Comments on Various Tax and Accounting Topics

Resources: Sample contracts, sample letters, calculation programs, checklists

Case law:

  • Full texts of Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) decisions
  • Full texts of Federal Tax Court (FG) decisions (from 2000 onward)
  • Full texts of Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) decisions (from 1998 onward)
  • ECJ decisions relevant to tax law
  • Federal Court of Justice (BGH) rulings (from 2002)
  • BAG rulings (since 2002)
  • Federal Social Court (BSG) rulings (since 2002)
  • Federal Administrative Court (aBVerwG) rulings (since 2002)

Packt Publishing

Over 150 English-language e-books from Packt Publishing on Cloud & Networking, Game Development, IoT & Hardware, Mobile, Programming, Security, Web Development, Data & Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence published between 2020 and 2024

Subject Areas

  • Computer Science

Licensed Content

  • 159 selected e-books from Packt Publishing
  • Downloads (by page, chapter, or book) available as PDF files.

Pearson eLibrary

Selected e-books from Pearson (in German and English)

Subject Areas

  • Business Administration & Economics
  • Mathematics
  • Computer Science
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics
  • Earth Sciences
  • Psychology
  • Medicine & Health Sciences
  • Scientific Research
  • Art - Photography - Design
  • Communication
  • Literary Studies
  • Social Sciences
  • Education Philosophy
  • Politics
  • Law
  • Philosophy

Licensed Content

  • Approx. 80 selected e-books from the database
  • The e-books can be read in their entirety online or downloaded as PDFs by chapter or subchapter.
  • To prevent automated downloads, a 30-second waiting period must be observed after downloading a PDF before the next PDF can be downloaded.

PressReader

Daily newspapers, lifestyle magazines, and tabloids from around the world, updated daily with full-text content

Subject Areas

  • Current Events
  • Current events
  • Interdisciplinary

Licensed content: Newspapers and magazines from around the world in about 60 languages

Use by Non-University Members

  • A library card is not required to use PressReader.
  • You can create your own PressReader account. You can also use the PressReader account you have, for example, through the public library.
  • Now the account needs to be linked to the university’s licenses. To do this, please check in at the library desk. We will then assign you a library computer.
  • Using your PressReader account credentials (email address and password), you can now log in to PressReader on the library computer.
  • Your PressReader account will then be linked to the university licenses for 3 days, and you can also use PressReader from home on your computer or mobile devices via your PressReader account.
  • After the 3 days have expired, you’ll need to log in to PressReader again on a library computer to renew the license link. It’s not possible to renew the license link from home.

Sage Journals

Over 1,100 English-language scholarly journals published by Sage Publications

Subject Areas

  • Life Sciences (e.g., biochemistry, medicine, psychology, environmental sciences)
  • Engineering and Materials Science
  • Social Sciences, Education
  • Computer Science
  • Economics

Licensed Content

You have access to nearly all journals and journal articles in the database.

Espresso Tutorials - SAP

E-books and instructional videos in German and English on various business management topics and IT issues related to SAP

Subject Areas

  • Economics
  • Business Informatics
  • Computer Science

The e-books can be viewed either as PDFs (layout identical to the print book, citation feature, print function for individual pages) or as EPUBs (search function, fully customizable).

The campus license expires on December 31, 2026. After that date, access to the portal and the e-books will no longer be available.

ScienceDirect

Elsevier e-journals

Also included:

Subject Areas

  • Chemistry
  • Engineering
  • Engineering
  • Energy Sciences
  • Physics
  • Health
  • Biological and Environmental Sciences
  • Social Sciences and Humanities

Licensed Content

  • All e-journals from Elsevier (DEAL)
  • National License: Handbooks in Economics Series 1981–2026: Access to Elsevier’s handbooks in the field of economics. Germany-wide access to this product is organized and funded by the ZBW – Leibniz Information Center for Economics. [Terms of Use]

Scopus

English-language abstract and citation database for peer-reviewed (scholarly reviewed) literature

Subject Areas

  • Natural Sciences
  • Technology
  • Medicine
  • Social Sciences
  • Arts and Humanities

Value of the Database

As a bibliographic database, Scopus offers a publisher-independent overview of a wide variety of journals, books, and patents across a broad range of disciplines.

  • Time savings: Instead of searching various publisher databases individually and having to work with Boolean operators that are sometimes different and sometimes limited, you can search a broad literature base using a single search query, numerous filters, and professional search syntax.
  • Access to full-text documents or ordering via interlibrary loan: You can use the library catalog to check whether a campus license is available for the electronic full text or whether the desired document must be ordered in print via interlibrary loan.
  • Stay up to date: Set up “alerts” for your search queries to be automatically notified of the latest publications.
  • Tools for tracking, analyzing, and visualizing research information
  • Identify citations of scientific articles (references and citations) for citation analysis

Scopus Support Center:

SpringerLink

E-books and e-journals from the academic publisher Springer covering all disciplines. Also includes conference proceedings in computer science and engineering.

Subject Areas

  • Architecture & Design
  • Business Administration & Management
  • Chemistry
  • Computer Science
  • Earth Sciences & Geography
  • Economics
  • Energy
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Food Science & Nutrition
  • Law
  • Life Sciences
  • Materials Science
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Social Sciences

Licensed content

Not licensed: e-books and e-journals marked with a yellow padlock. Please use the interlibrary loan service to order these titles. Upon request, we can also assess whether licensing an individual title would be advisable.

Statista

A compilation of statistics and studies (including key metadata such as source, publication date, number of respondents, etc.) from market researchers, associations, specialized publications, and government sources covering over 600 industries and 50 countries. Available in German, English, Spanish, and French.

Access options for guest readers: Please contact the library staff on site.

Subject Areas

Interdisciplinary

Licensed Content

  • Statistics, dossiers, forecasts, infographics, topics, studies, industry and country reports in German, English, Spanish, or French.
  • Downloads (XLS, PDF, or PNG) are available in most cases.

Not licensed:

  • Consumer & Company Insights (consumer data and company database)
  • In-house studies by Statista (Statista Research & Analysis). These in-house studies are not included in the Campus license and cannot be licensed separately. They are available for purchase only by individual consumers.

Road Construction

Collection of Technical Standards and Official Regulations for Road Construction

Specialized Fields

  • Road Construction
  • Transportation
  • Civil Engineering
  • Traffic Signs

Licensed Content

  • Technical Standards
  • Official regulations for road transport

 

License valid only until December 31, 2026. After that date, access to this database will no longer be possible.

ENVIRONMENT digital

Daily-updated online portal for all key environmental regulations at the federal, state, and EU levels

Areas of Expertise

  • General Environmental Law
  • Waste Management
  • Chemicals and Hazardous Substances
  • Energy
  • Water Protection
  • Air Quality Protection
  • Nature and Soil Conservation
  • Radiation Protection
  • Consumer Protection

Licensed Content

  • Access to laws, court rulings, and regulations.
  • New regulations are incorporated immediately upon publication—for comparison purposes, previous versions of the law remain searchable and can be compared with current versions of the regulations.
  • No full-text license is available for issues of the journals *Altlasten Spektrum*, *Bodenschutz*, *Immissionsschutz*, *MÜLL*, and *ABFALL*. Only the tables of contents and abstracts for these issues can be viewed here. Articles can be ordered as hard copies through interlibrary loan.

utb-elibrary

All e-books from utb Publishing and numerous e-books from partner publishers on a wide range of subjects

Subject Areas

  • Architecture
  • Business Administration, Economics
  • Biology/Ecology
  • History
  • Culture/Music/Theater
  • Art/Fashion/Design
  • Media and Communication Studies
  • Politics
  • Psychology
  • Social Work, Sociology
  • Education
  • Law
  • Technology/Engineering

Licensed Content

  • All e-books from utb
  • Over 250 selected e-books from other publishers, primarily on topics related to social work

Good to Know

For utb titles divided into chapters, you can access the individual chapters via the table of contents entries at the bottom left and then download them as PDFs.
All other titles to which you have access can be opened in their entirety as PDFs and downloaded by clicking the blue “Read Book” button.

Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht / Böhlau

Open Access e-books and other licensed e-books from the publishers Vandenhoeck & Rupprecht and Böhlau, primarily in the fields of psychology, social sciences, and the humanities

Subject Areas

  • History
  • Social Sciences (including migration studies, political science, economics, and social sciences)
  • Interdisciplinary Humanities
  • Psychology
  • Education
  • German Studies
  • Philosophy

Licensed Content

33 selected e-books from the portal

VDE Guidelines

Access to all VDE standards, Association for Electrical Engineering (VDE), including DIN-VDE standards

Fields of Expertise

  • Electrical Engineering

Licensed Content

  • All DIN VDE standards (currently valid standards, standards in the draft stage, and withdrawn standards)
  • Magazine “building & automation (b&a) – The Trade Publication for Electrical Professionals” (from 2015 onward)
  • NO access to IEC (international standards), technical books, and other magazines.

Good to know

Wiley

Selected e-books as well as all e-journals from Wiley

Subject Areas

  • Engineering
  • Architecture & Construction
  • Computer Science
  • Design
  • Economics 
  • Social Sciences
  • Psychology

Licensed Content

 

WISO

German-language database with many academic journals and newspapers

Subject Areas

  • Economics
  • Business Administration
  • Economics
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Engineering

Licensed Content

  • E-books
  • Magazines
  • Newspapers
  • References
  • Statistics
  • Market Data
  • Personal Information

License and Terms of Use

The specific terms of use for the WISO database can be found here; please pay particular attention to Section 5, “Rights of Use.”

Violations of the license terms may result in exclusion from using the library at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg pursuant to Art. 26 ABOB and will be pursued by both the publisher and the university. 
Violations of the license terms may also result in, among other things, personal legal consequences as well as the suspension of the campus license for the entire university.

Step by step: How to use the databases and publisher portals in the library

  1. Registration: Please 
    register at the library desk during staffed hours. Have your library card ready and ask for a guest login to access the databases.
  2. Using a Computer workstation: 
    The library staff member will log you in at an available library computer and record your visit. The computers are set up to access licensed resources.
  3. Select a database or portal:
    Open the desired database or the THA library catalog.
  4. Search & access full-text articles:
    Search by title, author, DOI, or keyword. Read full-text articles online. Downloads are permitted in accordance with the license terms.
  5. Logging out:
    Please log out of the computer when you have finished your research and briefly notify the staff at the library desk.

License and terms of use

If you use the databases and e-books licensed by the THA, you must strictly comply with the applicable terms of use. 

  • Full texts and other database content may be partially printed or saved only for personal use and for non-commercial purposes (academic, research, and teaching).
  • Distribution to third parties is not permitted in either electronic or printed form.
  • The automated or systematic downloading of data is permitted only within the narrow scope of Section 60d of the German Copyright Act (UrhG) for the purposes of text and data mining.
  • Mass downloads are prohibited.

Violations of the license terms may result in exclusion from using the Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg library pursuant to Art. 26 ABOB and may be pursued by the publisher and the university. Violations of the license terms may result in the suspension of the campus license for the entire university.

Please respect copyright laws!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

No.
External users may only access licensed databases and publisher portals on-site at the library's computers. Remote access is not permitted under the terms of the license.

Saving: This depends on the specific database. Generally, downloads are permitted for personal use and for non-commercial purposes (academic, research, and teaching). Sharing content with third parties is not permitted. Systematic downloading of electronic resources or search results is prohibited. Please refer to the instructions provided by the respective database.

Printing: For technical reasons, external users cannot use the library’s printers.

You can find an overview of all licensed databases here: Databases A-Z

If you are looking for something specific—such as a journal article or an e-book—we recommend starting with the database overview by material type.

Yes.
For licensing reasons and as part of our IT security measures, the duration of your computer use is recorded using your library card number. 

You are welcome to request a guest reader’s card at the library desk. There is a one-time fee of 5 EUR. Please bring your ID card with you when you come to get it.

No. 
In the evenings and on Saturdays, the library is open under the supervision of an external service provider. This provider is not permitted to create guest logins on the library's computers.

Contact us if you have any further questions

Library - General Enquiries

General library enquiries, e.g. regarding loan periods, use of e-resources, and research