LAMP (LibrAry Materials by Post)
How to subscribe | Requesting books | Requesting journal articles and book chapters | Service levels | Other Library services
The LAMP service (LibrAry Materials by Post) is a subscription based service which enables you to have books and photocopies of articles posted to your home address. It is available to all Birkbeck staff and students.
Birkbeck Library users with disabilities may be able to use the service for free on the recommendation of the College Disability Officer, Mark Pimm. If you think you may be eligible for free membership, please contact Mark Pimm in the Disability Office on 020 7631 6336, email m.pimm@bbk.ac.uk, or the Library’s Access Support team on 020 7631 6491, email library-disability@bbk.ac.uk.
How to subscribe
Students enrolled on official distance-learning courses are entitled to postal loans of books held by Birkbeck Library free of charge. Photocopies of articles and book chapters can be supplied at a cost of £1 per request, as can books and other material not held by the library. If you would like to join, please fill out the registration form or obtain one from the Library, and post it to the address on the form.
Other Birkbeck Library users may join the scheme as subscribers. There is a minimum initial subscription fee of £15. This will entitle you to place up to 3 requests. You can subsequently top up your LAMP account at any time in units of £5, each of which entitles you to place one request. Unused credit cannot be refunded but may be carried over to the next academic year if you are continuing your studies. If you would like to subscribe, please fill out the registration form or obtain one from Library Access Support, and post it to the address on the form.
Requesting books
Requests for books can be made using the online book request form or by completing and returning a paper request form.
Books held at Birkbeck will be sent by post anywhere in the UK or Ireland. You are responsible for the costs 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 you are accessing the Library catalogue outside of College and wish to use the LAMP service to obtain books, please send in the request form rather than making a reservation via the Library catalogue. This will ensure that the book is posted to you.
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. This is counted as a postal loan and will be charged to your LAMP account. Alternatively, subscribers may request books not held at Birkbeck Library via the inter-library loans service (see www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/how/ill/ for more details). There is a £1 charge for items obtained in this way and the book will not be posted to you.
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 or book chapters must be submitted by post or fax using an article request form HTML form | Word form. Due to copyright regulations we cannot accept requests without a signed copyright declaration. Please complete the request form legibly and in full. Incorrect or incomplete information may delay the processing of your request or result in your request being returned.
Photocopies of journal articles and book chapters can 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). Providing the BLDSC has the original in stock, which is usually the case with UK publications, the photocopy will be sent directly to your home address and should arrive within 2 weeks of receipt of your request. If you live outside the UK the BLDSC will send the photocopy to us and we will forward it to you. This will add to the time it takes to supply materials and you need to take this into account when making requests.
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.
Photocopies or electronic copies of articles from journals not held at Birkbeck Library, or other libraries in Bloomsbury to which you have access, may be obtained for a £1 charge via the inter-library loans service. Many journal articles are also available in electronic format via Birkbeck eLibrary. It is your responsibility to check this and if appropriate use the inter-library loans service. If you submit a request for a photocopy on a LAMP request form it will be charged to your LAMP account even if the article is available for free or at a lower cost via other means.
Service levels
Books in stock at Birkbeck Library are usually supplied within 5 working days of receipt of the request. 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.
The service is not meant to be a replacement for resources provided by your School, but rather a supplement to enable you to obtain additional materials. Many of the items you require may be available at a lower cost via the inter-library loans service, in electronic format, or by visiting another library which you are entitled to join. It is your responsibility to check this, as we are not able to advise you of such instances. All requests submitted on a LAMP request form will be deducted from your account once the item has been supplied, even if the material is available for free or at a lower cost via another means
Other library services
There are many Library services that are useful to distance learning students and those who cannot visit the Library regularly. These include schemes for accessing other libraries, an online library induction, and remote access to library catalogues, databases and electronic journals. These are detailed on the Library website.
If you have any queries about the LAMP service please contact the Faculty of Lifelong Learning library team on 020 7079 0871 or email lamp-library@bbk.ac.uk.
