Interlibrary loans
The interlibrary loans service gives you access to books and journal articles that are not in our collections.
Material obtained via interlibrary loans is subject to the terms and conditions of the supplying library.
Who can request interlibrary loans?
Current students and staff of London Metropolitan University who:
- Are registered with the libraries
- Do not have large outstanding charges
- Students at partner institutions and Alumni borrowing members can request articles only.
Request restrictions
All requests are checked and approved before being submitted to the British Library. Restrictions apply for the following types of requests:
- You are an undergraduate student and the item is for a student project, patent or standard.
- You have previously requested the same item.
How to order interlibrary loans
To order an interlibrary loan first check the online library catalogue to make sure that the item you want is not available in this University. If it is not listed, then:
- Click on the interlibrary loans option and choose your preferred format
- Fill in the online form with as much of the requested information as possible
- Enter your IT account username and password and click submit
- For book requests, please ensure availability for collection in person at the time of the request
Electronic delivery
- You may request a journal article or a chapter from a book. Whole journal issues and complete books cannot be delivered electronically
- The charge will be confirmed in an email from the interlibrary loans team before the request is sent to the supplying library
- You will receive an email containing a link to your document
- The link will remain active for 30 days from the date of the original email from the supplying library
- You will be charged irrespective of whether you access the document or not
Charges for interlibrary loan requests
Interlibrary loans incur the following order charges.
On arrival you will be charged for the item irrespective of whether you collect/access the item or not.
- £7.00 for electronic delivery of a journal article or book chapter from a digital source
- £12.00 for a photocopy of a journal article or book chapter, or electronic delivery of an article or chapter from a printed source
- £19 for a loan (books or journal issues) which includes return postage of item to the British Library
- £6.25 per renewal of a loan
Payment should not be made until your request has been processed. You will be contacted when your interlibrary loan is ready for collection, at which point payment can be made online via E-Shop.
Doctoral research students may request up to ten interlibrary loans per academic year. The fees for these are provided by the Research Office. Renewals and overdues will be charged.
Overdue charges on interlibrary loans
- Minimum charge of £1.00 per item per day for the late return of books and theses.
- If unreturned within 5 days of the due date, you may be subject to a British Library invoice for a minimum of £214.30 which includes an admin charge.
Doctoral research students
Doctoral research students may request up to ten interlibrary loans per academic year via the catalogue. There are additional fees for renewals and overdue loans which must be paid by the borrower. The British Library will invoice for the non-return or late return of books.
- Minimum charge of £1.00 per item per day for the late return of books and theses.
- If unreturned within 5 days of the due date, you may be subject to a British Library invoice for a minimum of £214.30 which includes an admin charge.
Ordering accessible copies
See the section called Ordering accessible copies from the British Library on our Customers with disabilities page.
Frequently asked questions
- Once a request has been submitted on your behalf we are unable to cancel it. When it arrives you will be charged for the request irrespective of whether you collect the item or not. We cannot guarantee that the material you request will arrive by a particular date.
- If you would like to renew, contact the interlibrary loan staff for your site before the date it is due. There is a £6.25 charge for renewal.
- You will be informed by email. It is important for you to keep checking your email account whilst using the interlibrary loans service as we may need further information regarding your request.
- If supplied with photocopies you can keep them. Other items are normally issued to you for five weeks.
- Articles and book chapters will usually arrive within one week. Books may take longer.
- We cannot guarantee that the material you request will arrive by a particular date.
- There are no restrictions on the number of interlibrary loan requests that you can make but you cannot request the same item again.
- Any item recalled on an interlibrary loan must be returned immediately, regardless of the due date. The British Library charges the library a minimum of £214.30 (often considerably more) if items are not returned when requested. You may be subject to a British Library invoice for a minimum of £214.30 if the item is not returned.