LAMP (LibrAry Materials by Post)
Requesting books | Requesting journal articles and book chapters | How long does it take? | Other useful Library services | Contact details
The LAMP Service (LibrAry Materials by Post) enables you to have books and photocopies of articles posted to your home address, and may be useful if you have difficulties accessing Birkbeck Library. The service is offered free of charge to students who have been referred by the College Disability Office to Library Access Support. It is available to affiliate members with disabilities on a subscription basis.
The LAMP service is administered by the Library's Access Support team, who can be contacted on telephone number 020 7631 6491 or email library-disability@bbk.ac.uk.
A separate guide to LAMP for paying subscribers is available here.
Requesting books
Requests for books can be made using the online book request form or by completing and returning a paper form. Forms are also available on request from Library Access Support.
What can we supply?
- 3-week loan books held at Birkbeck Library will be sent by post anywhere in the UK or Ireland.
- One-week loan books will be posted to users who are eligible for extended loan periods.
- Theses and reference books cannot be supplied by post but we may be able to order copies of such items on inter-library loan.
Further information
- You are responsible for the cost of returning books by post, and the books remain your responsibility until received in the Library.
- If the book is out on loan to another borrower, we will place a reservation for you and send the book to you as soon as it becomes available
- If the book is not held by Birkbeck Library we will apply for it on inter-library loan and post it to you when it is supplied to us. The return date will be set by the supplying library. Inter-library loans may be renewed at the discretion of the lending library. If you wish to renew an inter-library loan, please contact Library Access Support at least a week before the due date. There is a £3 charge to renew inter-library loans.
Requesting journal articles and book chapters
Requests for journal articles and book chapters must be submitted by post or fax using an article request form: HTML form | Word form or on request from Library Access Support. Due to copyright regulations we cannot accept requests without a signed copyright declaration (alternative arrangements may be made for users with visual impairments)
Delivery by post
Photocopies of journal articles and book chapters will be posted anywhere in the world. All requests for photocopies, even from originals held by Birkbeck Library, are sent to the British Library Document Supply Centre (BLDSC), who will post the article directly to your home address.
Electronic delivery
Journal articles and book chapters can also be supplied in electronic format as pdf files and delivered directly to your email address, using the British Library's Secure Electronic Delivery service. You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0.1 or above installed on your computer. The file can only be opened once, cannot be saved, and you may only print one copy.
How long does it take?
Books in stock at Birkbeck Library are usually supplied within 5 working days. Photocopies should be sent to you within 2 weeks. Delays can occur if a book is out on loan or has to be requested from another library, or if a photocopy cannot be supplied immediately by the British Library Document Supply Centre. When delays occur we will contact you to explain the reason.
Other useful library services
The Library offers a range of services designed to meet the needs of users with disabilities. Full details of these are available in the Guide for Library users with disabilities or by contacting Library Access Support.
Contact details
If you have any queries about the LAMP service please contact Library Access Support on 020 7631 6491 or email library-disability@bbk.ac.uk
