Inter-library loans

What is the inter-library loans service?

The inter-library loans service allows you to access material held at other libraries in the UK and abroad. If you require books, journal articles, theses or reports for your studies or research, and these are not available in Birkbeck Library, it may be possible to order them through the inter-library loans (ILL) service. It is important that you only request material that is essential to your academic studies – not for personal interest, because the service is costly.

Who may use the inter-library loan service?

How to make an inter-library loan request

1. Before making a request check the Birkbeck Library catalogue and electronic resources via the library web site to make sure that the item you require is not held by the Birkbeck Library in any format. When requesting journals make sure you follow these steps:

• Check to see if you have access to the electronic version of the journal via the Ejournals section of the Library web site.
• When ordering a photocopy, please ensure that you have read and signed the copyright declaration form on the front page of the request form. This declaration only covers photocopies required for a non-commercial purpose.

Birkbeck students are entitled to visit a range of local libraries for reference use. If you require an item urgently, you may prefer to acquire it in person from an appropriate location. The ‘Using Other Libraries’ guide gives full details of how to find items in other libraries and how to access them.

Fill in a form

2. Once you are sure that the item is not in stock in neither hard copy nor electronic format, you should fill in one of two forms: blue form for books/conference papers/other loan items, or a yellow form for a journal article or book chapter. Web-based versions of request forms are also available from the links below:

Book/conference paper/loan item request form
Journal article or book chapter request form

Please ensure that you submit one form per item requested. In the case of multi-volume items, one form per volume requested is required. Requesting more than one item on a single form may result in your requests not being accepted, or in one or more of your requested items not being supplied.

3. When submitting a request please complete the form as fully as possible as this will help us to supply your request quickly. All incomplete request forms will be returned to you. Completed forms should be handed in at the Library Issue desk, or sent by fax (on 020 7631 6066) or by post for the attention of Inter-ibrary Loans. Requests for journal articles or book chapters can also be scanned to a reasonable quality and sent as email attachments to the Inter-library Loans Service's email address. Requests for books or loan items can be submitted online.

Is there a charge?

A charge of £1 is made for each satisfied inter-library loan request. The costs incurred by the Library to satisfy each request average £12, so it is only possible to supply items essential to Birkbeck academic studies. Birkbeck Library meets a substantial part of these charges, but requires users to contribute to these costs by paying a small fee.

When requested books and loan items arrive in the Library, you will receive an email informing you that your item is ready to be collected from the Library Issue Desk, and the ILL voucher charge of £1.00 will be added to your Library record. This charge is payable on collection of your item.  Inter-library loans staff receive regular progress reports concerning requests from supplying libraries. When a report is received indicating that a journal article or book chapter has been delivered as a photocopy or as a Secure Electronic Delivery (PDF) document, a £1.00 ILL voucher charge will be added to the requester's record, which must be paid as soon as possible. Please note that failure to clear outstanding Library charges above £25 may affect your borrowing privileges and your ability to renew other items you may have on loan. If an item you have requested through the service is not supplied, the £1 ILL voucher charge will not be made. 

Special arrangements to cover inter-library loan charges are in place for academic staff who need to use this service as part of their work, and for research students in most departments.

Are there any restrictions on what may be ordered?

• Undergraduate students may have up to five requests in progress at any one time. Taught postgraduate students may have up to ten, and research students and academic staff up to fifteen requests in progress at any one time. This includes all types of request. More requests cannot be placed until materials have been returned to the lending library or photocopies have been received.

• Readers may only submit up to ten book or thesis requests per month.

• Material from abroad, including North American theses, may be ordered by academic and research staff or students studying purely by research at no additional cost. Other categories of user can apply, but an extra charge will be made for this service. If you require more information about this please contact a member of the ILL staff.

How long will my inter-library loan take?

Most material we obtain on inter-library loan is supplied by the British Library Document Supply Centre. You can expect a book to take up to four weeks and copies of articles or chapters up to two weeks from the date of submission, but most items are supplied earlier. Journal articles and book chapters will be posted to you as photocopies or emailed directly to your desktop, depending on your preferred method of delivery. If an item is borrowed from abroad it could take much longer to arrive. Please allow at least 14 days before contacting the ILL section about requests as we cannot chase outstanding items with the supplier until this time has elapsed.

You will be notified by post or email as soon as possible if a request will not be processed. The original request form is returned to you with details of why the item has not been requested.

Where do the items come from?

You don’t have to know the location of the item you require in order to place a request. The majority of our ILLs come from our main supplier, the British Library Document Supply Centre (BLDSC) in Boston Spa, Yorkshire. Most books held by the British Library in St Pancras, London are not available for loan. If you know of a library that holds the item you require, you are welcome to include this information on your original request form. We may request the item from this location if the BLDSC cannot supply it. Please note that we can only deal with individual requests to nominated libraries in rare cases.  

Why might there be a delay?

The length of time taken to satisfy a request depends on the availability of the item and the speed of the lending library at dealing with our request. Although most items we borrow are from BLDSC and are supplied very quickly, we are only allowed to chase a request 14 days after the date it was first sent off for supply. Delays can occur for a variety of different reasons, e.g. you are placed on a waiting list for the item or the item is missing from stock. Also, because of overseas postal timeframes, supplying material from abroad may be subject to considerable delays. If we are notified about a delay with a request, we will contact the reader as soon as possible. Any library may decline to supply an item at its own discretion.

How will I know when my inter-library loan has arrived?

Photocopies are normally sent by post to your home or School address, or sent electronically direct to your desktop (whichever you have specified), and are for you to keep. You will be informed by post or email when other material is ready for collection. Please note that you can borrow inter-library loan items on top of your normal loan limit.

Can I take an item home?

Most books may be borrowed for home reading, but the following categories of material are normally only for use in the Library:

• Theses (microfilms, microfiche and hard-copies)
• Old or valuable material
• Material obtained from Oxford or Cambridge Universities or the British Library Document Supply Unit at St Pancras.
• Reference only material from other libraries, if supplied.

If home reading is essential to your studies, you should make this clear on your original request form.

How long may I keep an ILL?

When you are notified that your book is available for collection you will also be informed of the date on which it is due for return. Material that has been supplied by the BLDSC is loaned for a period of four weeks. Other lenders will usually loan items out for a period of three to four weeks.

Is there a fine for returning ILLs late?

No. However, you may be charged for the replacement cost if a book is returned very late. BLDSC charges at least £129.50 for a lost book, or books which are severely overdue. If the item becomes very overdue and the lending library arranges to buy a replacement copy, you will be required to pay this cost, even if the book is subsequently returned. The book remains the property of the lending Library and must be returned if later found. If subsequently returned, they may refund a proportion of the cost but will still retain an administration fee of at least £60. Therefore inter-library loans should be returned promptly, either on or before the date indicated on the item cover sheet. You can return ILL items to the Library issue desk, or in the book return bins outside the Library. Once an item has been returned, it may not be re-requested for a period of 4 weeks.

Other Information

Renewals

If you would like to renew material borrowed on inter-library loan, please ask staff at the Library issue desk for an ILL Renewals form or submit a request for renewal via the form linked below at least one week before the item is due to be returned. You may keep the item out on loan even if it is overdue until we find out if the renewal is possible, and continue to borrow as normal. If a renewal is possible you will be notified about the new due date by post or email, the book will be renewed on your record and an ILL renewal charge of £3.40 will be added to your Library record. All readers are required to pay for ILL renewals. The renewal charge should be paid before any further material is requested on inter-library loan, or any other Birkbeck Library material is borrowed.

• ILL Renewal form

Recalls

All items borrowed from the British Library are subject to immediate recall. Should this occur, readers will be requested by post or email to return the item before the due date which is written on the item cover sheet.

Photocopying inter-library loan material

If you are supplied with a book on inter-library loan, you may normally photocopy up to one chapter, or 5% of the book. In the case of a journal issue, you may copy one article unless you have previously received an article from the same issue of the same journal.

Further information

If you require further information about the inter-library loans service or need to enquire after the progress of your request(s), please contact inter-library loans staff on 020 7631 6363 or via email on mailto:interloans-library@bbk.ac.uk