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Birkbeck Library Interlibrary Loans Policy and Guidelines

Aims

  • To support the academic needs of the College community by providing Birkbeck students and staff information resources which are not available at Birkbeck Library.
  • To contribute to academic research in higher education by lending our books and journals to other libraries.

Eligibility

All current Birkbeck students and staff are entitled to request an Interlibrary Loan.

Requests for Interlibrary Loans will not be processed if there is an outstanding fine of over £25 on the user's library account. Requests will also not be processed if the user has an overdue book or if ‘borrower invoiced’ blocks are present.

How to request an Interlibrary Loan

Requests should be made through the online Interlibrary Loan platform, Clio, through the following link:

What can be requested?

  • Items not available through Birkbeck Library or Senate House Library may be requested through the Interlibrary Loan service. If a Birkbeck item is on loan, a request should be made on the library catalogue and an Interlibrary Loan request should not be made.
  • Requests can be made for loans of print items and for copies of articles and chapters.
  • Articles and book chapters can be requested, but restrictions under copyright legislation will apply.
  • The same item cannot be requested for a loan within a month of the original loan being returned.
  • E-books and UK theses cannot be loaned under the Interlibrary Loan service. UK theses can be searched for on the British Library’s Electronic Theses Online System (EThOS).
  • International theses can be requested if they are not already available from accessible digital repositories.
  • A maximum of 10 requests can be made at any one time.

Lending period

The lending library will set the due date, and whether or not items may be renewed. Some items may be for reference use only.

Interlibrary Loan items should be collected promptly upon receipt of an email notification stating the item has been received.

Interlibrary Loan items are not included in the Birkbeck Library click-and-post service.

Renewals

Interlibrary Loans are not automatically renewed. Requests for renewals can be made via the Interlibrary Loan platform before the due date. It is not possible to request renewals for overdue items on the Interlibrary Loan platform.

The Interlibrary Loans team should be contacted by email to request a renewal of an item once it is overdue.

Costs

Although the library incurs a charge, users do not pay for Interlibrary Loans.

  • The first renewal of an Interlibrary Loan is free, but there is a £5 charge for subsequent renewals which will be added to the user’s library account.
  • Worldwide searches and requests for international theses are free of charge for Birkbeck research students and staff. For all other eligible students, there is a charge of £30.

Fines for overdue items are charged at 50 pence per day.

Replacement costs

The replacement cost of a lost Interlibrary Loan item is set in accordance with the British Library service charges. This is £235.70 for the academic year 2025/26. However, more will be charged if the item is particularly expensive to replace.

Supplying to Other Libraries

What can be supplied?

Items with a three or one-week loan period can be supplied.

Items not eligible for supply include reference only, short loan items, DVDs and CDs.

Theses

Birkbeck theses submitted after 2012 are available to search and view via the Birkbeck Institutional Repository Online (BIROn). For pre-2012 digital theses, requests should be made via the British Library's EThOS service.

Hard copy thesis loans may be arranged for UK libraries only, and only if the thesis is not accessible via BIROn or EThOS.

Submitting requests

Lending requests can be made by email to the Interlibrary Loans team at interloans@bbk.ac.uk.

The requesting institution’s British Library account code, library symbol and a reference number for the request should be included in the email.

Please note that loans to international libraries are not permitted.

Charges

Loan and copy requests are charged at the current British Library Document Supply Service pricing. Loans for larger or heavier items may incur a higher charge.

Lending period

Our lending period is 8 weeks. Renewals may or may not be allowed for a further 8 weeks depending on the demand for the item. All loans are permitted for home use and are subject to recall.

Last updated: May 2026.