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Inter Library Loans

If you need a book or journal article that is not held in any format at one of the University of Derby libraries, the Inter Library Loans (ILLs) service may be able to obtain a copy from another library.

Request an Inter Library Loan

Before submitting your Inter Library Loan Request, please check Library Search to ensure we do not already hold the item in one of our libraries. We are unable to supply items that are already in stock.

Please note: during the Christmas closure period you may still place requests, but some requests will not be satisfied until after 02.01.25

 

The Inter Library Loans service is available to the following users: 

Type of user Maximum number of requests in one year Cost per request
Undergraduates Unlimited No charge
Taught postgraduates Unlimited No charge
Research students Unlimited No charge
Staff Unlimited No charge

The following user categories are not eligible for inter library loans: External, Alumni, Honorary, SCONUL Access and Exchange (e.g. Erasmus) students. If you are in one of these categories you may be able to request an inter library loan at your local library or directly, by registering at the British Library

Inter library loan requests may be placed for items that are: 

  • needed for your research or study
  • not available via Library Search or freely via the internet

To comply with UK copyright law, we can only supply you with one chapter per book or one article per journal issue. If you require more than one item from the same publication, you should request a loan of the full item.

There are two ways to submit an Inter Library Loan request.

Library Search (New!)

It is now even easier to get hold of books and articles with the new Inter Library Loans functionality in Library Search. Please note that you will need to sign in to Library Search to view request options.

Once you have searched for an item, select ‘expand your search’ to see resources that we do not hold electronically, or at one of our libraries.

Results page on Library Search showing the link to expand your search

Where you see the option to 'Get it for me from other libraries' we may be able to supply this item via Inter Library Loan.

An item on Library Search with the get it for me from other libraries link

Click 'Get it for me from other libraries' to see more information about the item, and go to the 'Get it from other locations' section to choose an Inter Library Loan request option.

Get it from other locations section on Library Search showing options for Inter Library Loan

Inter Library Loan Request Form

If you are not able to find the resource you need in Library Search, please submit a request using our request form:

 

Notice for users with a British Library account

The Library will sometimes use the British Library to source an inter library loan for you. In these cases you may be asked to create an account with the British Library in order access and download digital copies of your requested content. 

If you have used the service before and already have an existing account, the British Library recommend you re-set your password after they experienced a series of cyber attacks in November 2023. You can read more about the incident and service updates on the British Library's blog.

 

Further information

You should receive your item within 6 to 10 days, however some items may take 2 to 3 weeks to arrive, so we recommend that you make your request as far in advance as possible.

Journal articles and book chapters

These will usually be sent directly to your email address. You will receive a link to a PDF and will need to sign in using your university credentials to access the item. Digital requests may also be supplied by the British Library and you will need to register for a free On Demand account before you can access these items.

Occasionally, articles or book chapters received from other libraries will be supplied as photocopies and must be collected from the library. We will email you to let you know when your item is ready to collect.

Loans

You will receive an email when your item is ready for collection. Your books will be available to pick up from the Library counter at the collection site you selected on your request form.

The loan period is set by the lending library and items are subject to recall. To take full advantage of the loan period you should collect your items as soon as possible.

Library use only

Sometimes libraries specify that books may not be taken away from the library. These items can only be used within the Library during staffed hours, so please plan your visit to allow for this.

Returning your Inter Library Loan

Please return books to a member of staff at a Library loans counter on or before the due date to allow us plenty of time to send them back to the lending library.

You do not have to return photocopies of journal articles and books chapters.

Renewals

It may be possible to renew your inter library loan books if you need them for longer. Please email us at ills@derby.ac.uk a few working days before the due date so that we can contact the lending library and ask them if a renewal would be possible.

Fines

It is important that you take care of your inter library loan as if an item is not returned for any reason you will be liable for the cost of a replacement.

Journal articles and book chapters will generally be sent directly to your email address. The emails containing the links to your items will either arrive directly from the Library (ills@derby.ac.uk) or from the British Library (noreply@bldss.bl.uk).

How to access journal articles and book chapters sent directly by the Library

  1. Click the link in the email and enter your university username and password
  2. After successfully logging in, you will be taken to a PDF of your item

You can also download these items from your account in Library Search.

  1. Sign in to My Account and go to the Requests section
  2. When your request has been completed, you will see a link to download the item
A completed request in the my account page in Library Search

How to access journal articles and book chapters from the British Library

Before you can access your documents you will need to:

To access your items:

 

  1. The British Library will send you an email containing a link to the requested document. If you have already registered for an On Demand account, skip to step 5 below.
  2. Click on the link and select ‘Register for On Demand' on the download page.
  3. Follow the instructions on screen to complete the registration process. 
  4. Wait 5 minutes and then return to the download page (if necessary you can open the download page again by clicking on the link in the email).
  5. Click ‘Download your document’ and enter your On Demand username and password to access the document.

We recommend using Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox or Safari as your browser. You may use Google Chrome, but you will need to disable the Chrome PDF viewer before your documents can be opened on your computer.

The document is locked to your user account rather than a machine, so it can be viewed on any computer or mobile device. If you wish to view the document on multiple devices, please ensure you have installed Adobe Reader or Adobe Digital Editions on each device.

Printing

All download links will expire after 30 days so please print or save a copy of the document as soon as possible.

You will only be able to print your document once, so please ensure that your printer is working and (if you are printing from a University PC) that you have sufficient print credit first.

You will be able to access a saved document on your device for up to 3 years.

How to get help

For assistance with registering for an On Demand account, please see our ILL SED Registration Guide.

If you are having problems accessing your document, check if your question is answered in the British Library On Demand FAQs.

If you need further help, please email library@derby.ac.uk or call us on +44 (0)1332 591215.

Copyright declaration

I hereby request you to supply me with a copy of the item detailed on this form which I require for the purposes of research or private study. I declare that:

  1. I have not previously been supplied with the same material by you or any other librarian;
  2. I will not use the copy except for research for a non-commercial purpose or private study
  3. I will not supply a copy of it to any other person
  4. To the best of my knowledge no other person with whom I work or study has made, or intends to make, at or about the same time as this request, a request for substantially the same material for substantially the same purpose.
  5. If this item was delivered by an electronic method (including fax transmission), I will retain only a single paper copy and destroy any electronic copies after printing
  6. I understand that if the declaration is false in a material particular, the copy supplied to me by you will be an infringing copy and that I shall be liable for infringement of copyright as if I had made the copy myself.

Delivery

We will endeavour to process your request within five working days of its receipt. Please allow two to three weeks for the supply of the item, although most requests, especially those sent electronically, will arrive within days.

You can check the progress of your request by logging onto My Account in Library Search.

Staff

The Inter Library Loan (ILL) Service supports academic work undertaken by staff employed by the University of Derby. We are unable to process requests relating to work or study that is not connected with UoD.

Data protection

Our Data Protection Officer (DPO) is Helen Rishworth on (01332) 591954. Alternatively you can email gdpr@derby.ac.uk Further information on how we handle your information and details of our DPO can be found here on our website https://www.derby.ac.uk/its/datagov/privnotice/ 

The University of Derby holds ILL requests securely and will keep request details for the period of six years as required by the terms and conditions of the British Library and the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

If the item you would like is a thesis, please check to see if it is available via the British Library’s EThOS service. Many UK theses have been digitised and are available to download free of charge.

What is a thesis?

A doctoral thesis is a long piece of writing based on the ideas and research conducted as part of a doctorate degree, i.e. a PhD, EdD or ProfDoc.

Many theses are directly obtainable from EThOS, the British Library's service for the delivery of PhD theses published by UK universities.

If you require a thesis, you can obtain it directly in electronic format to your PC desktop. 

EThOS Electronic Theses Online Service

Follow this pathway to use EThOS:

  • Go to the EThOS website and log on. On your first visit register for the service by completing a short web form.
  • Search for the thesis you require across a database of over 400,000+ titles
  • If the item has already been digitised by EThOS, it will be available free of charge for immediate download.
  • Click on the link to download the document. The item is delivered to your PC in a zip file. 
  • If the thesis hasn't yet been digitised, you can click on the link to order from print. Please note that a scan fee may apply.  Following your request for the title, the British Library will then seek to obtain it from its host institution, will scan it and place it on EThOS. Allow two to three weeks for this to take place and you will then be able to log on to access and download the item. 
  • Some titles are only available if you pay a digitisation fee.  This is currently £58.32.

For further information and help please contact us at library@derby.ac.uk