1 FAQs for private users

1.1 Access to content

1.1.1 How can I get access to content?

Most content in the eLibrary is fee-based. You are be granted access to fee-based titles after purchasing them. Simply send an e-mail to service-elibrary@vdi-verlag.de and let us know which titles you are interested in. We will then inform you about the prices.

An active account of yours is required for the unlocking of content. Please pay attention to our instructions 1.3.1 How can I create an account for VDI Verlag-eLibrary?

Some content in the eLibrary is freely available for everyone and does not require a login (open access).

1.1.2 How do I know which content I have access to?

Call up the requested content. You can see a cover of the respective title at the top of the page. Left of it, there is a traffic light symbol. Red means ‘no access’ while green means ‘access’. Please note that you need to be logged in in order for your access authorization to be applied. In case you do not have a personal account yet, please pay attention to our instructions 1.3.1 How can I create an account for VDI Verlag-eLibrary?

1.1.3 How can I access content I have purchased?

When you are logged in, the content you have access to is marked with a green traffic light symbol next to the cover.

You can also start a search. In your search results, you can see the menu item “Access”. If you activate the check box at “Accessible documents only”, your search results are limited to the content you have access to.

Navigate to the requested title or journal issue. On the left hand, you can see the chapter or article outline. For each chapter or article you have a separate PDF file for full text view at your disposal. The text is displayed in a window in the middle of the screen. You have all further functions on hand, such as printing or downloading.

1.1.4 I cannot (or no longer) access the desired titles.

Most content in the eLibrary is only available when purchased. In case you have not yet purchased the desired content, please pay attention to the information at 1.1.1 How can I get access to content? If you have already purchased the content but still cannot access it, please let us know by sending an e-mail to service-elibrary@vdi-verlag.de.

1.2 Searching for content

1.2.1 How can I search for content?

The fastest and easiest search option is offered on the cover page of the eLibrary. Simply enter the desired term into the search bar “in eLibrary” at the top of the screen. This enables you to search the full text of all content.

In order to open the extended search, click onto “Extended Search” next to the search bar. A menu opens that enables you to adjust your search on the basis of these criteria: date of publication, subject area, kind of publication as well as title, author, ISBN/ISSN/DOI and book series. Please note that all criteria entered here add up.

A way to raise the amount of relevant hits is the so-called truncation. If, for instance, you search for each text passage containing the term ‘engineering’, you can use the technique of truncation by entering ‘engineer*’. Thus, you get considerably more hits, as words like ‘engineering’ or ‘engineers’ etc. are considered as well.

1.2.2 What VDI Verlag content is available in the eLibrary?

The eLibrary contains the scientific programme VDI Verlag has published since 2016 as well as eleven of our journal issues (back to 2019) and our newspaper VDI nachrichten (back to 2019).

You can also get an overview of the contents via the thematic outline at the left margin of the screen. There you ́ll find thematically structures categories under “subjects” under “journals”.

By clicking onto a subject, the respective hit list opens; you can then further restrict your search with the aid of different criteria such as the date of publication or the kind of publication.

You can purchase our Fortschritt-Berichte VDI and VDI-Berichte in our VDI nachrichten-Shop at https://www.vdi-nachrichten.com/shop as printed books or as PDF files.

1.3 Account and personal settings

1.3.1 How can I create a VDI Verlag-eLibrary account?

Call up https://elibraryvdi-verlag.de Then click onto “Login” at the upper right corner of the screen. Below the input mask for the login data the text “You do not have an account yet? Please register here.” appears. Click onto “Please register here.”

A new window opens with a mask for entering your basic information. Required fields are user name, first name, last name, e-mail address and place. Please complete your entry by clicking onto “Send”.

Due to the double opt-in process, you receive an automatised e-mail with a confirmation link. Please click onto this link in order to complete your registration.

In a final step, you receive an e-mail with your password. You can then log in with your user name and your password.

1.3.2 How can I get a new password?

If you need a new password, for instance because you have either forgotten or mislaid it, you can easily request a new one.

Call up https://elibrary.vdi-verlag.de Then click onto “Login” at the upper right corner of the screen. Below the input mask for the login data the text “Reset password?” appears. Please click onto this link and then enter the e-mail address you have used for creating your VDI Verlag-eLibrary account. Confirm your entry by clicking onto “Send”.

Then please follow the instructions in the automatised e-mail sent to the e-mail address you have entered.

1.3.3 How can I register for alerting services?

Please log in. In case you have not yet created a personal account, please follow the instructions at 1.3.1 How can I create a VDI Verlag-eLibrary account? In the upper right corner of the screen please click onto your user name and thus open a drop-down list. In this menu, click onto “Alert Settings”.

You can then register and, of course, deregister for different alerting services. You are automatically informed about new publications, be it with regard to journals, packages, series or open access publications, by activating the respective check boxes next to the requested categories and then completing the registration for the alerting services by clicking onto “Confirm” at the lower margin of the screen. In case you wish to deregister, simply deselect the check boxes and click onto “Confirm”.