--- type: Documentation title: User roles and permissions description: 'Librario uses a role-based permission system. This page explains the three access levels: basic access, librarian and administrator.' resource: https://www.librario.de/en/docs/administration/rollen language: en revision: e114aa541d24c57e452957a2313c85d2014b716b tags: - docs - administration --- # User roles and permissions Librario uses a **role-based permission system** to control access to features and data. **All users** can search the library and read publications. They can borrow copies when self-service borrowing is on, and request copies on plans that include loan requests. On top of this there are **two special roles**: **librarians** manage the publication holdings and loans, and **administrators** can also manage users and the [account settings](/en/docs/administration/kontoeinstellungen). New users, including those created through single sign-on, start without a role and have basic access. You assign roles when you [create or edit a person](/en/docs/administration/benutzerverwaltung), with the **Librarian** and **Admin** switches under **Roles & permissions**. If neither switch is on, the person has basic access, and their profile shows **Without role**. Loan requests, advanced task management and single sign-on are options on our custom plans ([compare plans](/en/preise)). ## Which role for whom? Many companies have no librarian of their own. One person looks after the library alongside their main job, often with help from student assistants or an office assistant. A typical setup: | Who | Role | What they can do with it | |---|---|---| | The person responsible for the library | Administrator | Create users, assign roles, manage account settings and the subscription. They already have every librarian right and don't need the second switch. | | Student assistants or an office assistant who add publications and handle loan requests | Librarian | Maintain the holdings without changing users or account settings | | Everyone else | None (basic access) | Search, read, borrow or request copies (depending on account settings and plan) and create their own collections | Whoever sets up [single sign-on](/en/docs/integration/sso-mit-microsoft) also needs the administrator role. > **Librarians can also delete:** > > There is no role that can edit publications but not delete them. Librarians can delete any publication, file, hard copy or collection, and [deleting a publication cannot be undone](/en/docs/bibliothekswesen/publikationen-verwalten). Before you give student assistants or office assistants this role, show them how to maintain the holdings. ## Basic access Every user gets these basic rights: ### [Publications](/en/docs/grundlagen/publikationen-durchsuchen) - Search and read all publications - [Mark as favourite](/en/docs/grundlagen/favoriten-verwalten) - [Request hard copies and place holds](/en/docs/grundlagen/leihexemplare-ausleihen#leihanfrage) (on plans that include loan requests) ### Files - View and download all PDFs and other files ### [Hard copies](/en/docs/grundlagen/leihexemplare-ausleihen) - See availability and locations - Borrow available copies (except reference-only copies) when [self-service borrowing](/en/docs/administration/kontoeinstellungen#leihexemplare) is on - Return their own loans - View the QR codes of hard copies ### [Collections](/en/docs/grundlagen/sammlungen-verwalten) - View all collections - Create their own collections - Edit their own collections and collections they have editing rights for; delete their own collections - Add publications to and remove them from their own collections - Add users to and remove them from their own collections ### Profile - View and edit their own profile - Change their own password (unless disabled by SSO) - View other users' profiles ### [Task management](/en/docs/bibliothekswesen/aufgabenverwaltung) - Create new [loan requests](/en/docs/grundlagen/leihexemplare-ausleihen#leihanfrage) (on plans that include loan requests) and [error reports](/en/docs/bibliothekswesen/aufgabenverwaltung/aufgabentypen#fehlermeldung) - View their own loan requests and error reports, on the publication page and in the **My loan requests** overview - Withdraw their own open loan requests - Add to or correct the description of their own error reports afterwards Users also reach the [Kanban board](/en/docs/bibliothekswesen/aufgabenverwaltung/kanban-board) through **Tasks** in the top navigation. It shows them only their own error reports and loan requests. Quality reviews are reserved for librarians and admins. ## Librarian On top of [basic access](#basiszugang), a librarian can: ### [Publications](/en/docs/bibliothekswesen/publikationen-verwalten) - Create new publications - Edit or delete existing publications - Manage [categories](/en/docs/bibliothekswesen/best-practices/kategorien) and keywords ### Files - Upload new files - Edit or delete existing files ### [Hard copies](/en/docs/bibliothekswesen/leihexemplare-verwalten) - Create new hard copies - Edit or delete existing hard copies - Borrow and return on behalf of other users, even when self-service borrowing is off - Manage locations ### [Collections](/en/docs/grundlagen/sammlungen-verwalten) - Edit and delete all collections - Add users to and remove them from all collections - Add publications to and remove them from all collections ### [Task management](/en/docs/bibliothekswesen/aufgabenverwaltung) - View the Kanban board and edit all tasks - Be assigned tasks (only librarians and admins can be assignees) - Request and carry out quality reviews (on plans with advanced task management) - Place loan requests on behalf of other users, and edit loan requests and error reports - Define and maintain [recurring tasks](/en/docs/bibliothekswesen/aufgabenverwaltung/wiederkehrende-aufgaben) (on plans with advanced task management) ## Administrator On top of [librarian access](#bibliothekarin), an administrator can: ### [User management](/en/docs/administration/benutzerverwaltung) - Create new users - Edit or delete existing users - Assign and revoke roles - Reset passwords ### Account management - Edit the general account information - Configure account settings, for example self-service borrowing, automatic task assignment and AI assistants (MCP) - Manage SSO settings (on plans with single sign-on) See [account settings](/en/docs/administration/kontoeinstellungen) for more details. ### Subscription - View the current subscription and invoices - Change plan (if the current plan allows it)