Interlibrary Requests

The Interlibrary Requests (ILR) service exists to support your research activities related to your role at the University, by obtaining material not held in the University Library.

Our request forms allow online requesting, as well as electronic delivery to your Sussex email account. If you have requested a book, we will offer access to an ebook where available or alternatively a print copy will be sourced  from another library.  For journal article requests, we can provide secure electronic delivery for items supplied by the British Library. 

  • Placing a request
    • Please check Library Search to ensure that the item you require is not already in stock or available electronically before requesting, then click on the Place an Interlibrary Request box at the top of this page. You will be asked to sign-in using your IT Services username and password.
    • Select either the Book  Request form for a book, book chapter or conference proceedings or the Article Request form for a journal article, conference paper. 
    • Provide the full bibliographic details for the item you are requesting, as this will speed up your request.
    • For Article Requests supplied by the British Librarywe will deliver the article direct to your email account using their Secure Electronic Delivery service, unless you add a comment requesting a paper copy on the request form.  Where desktop delivery is not possible, we will email the article to your Sussex email address.
    • Please read and agree to the terms of the copyright declaration by ticking the check box, before submitting your request.
  • Interlibrary Request limits

    There is no charge for using the ILR service up to the limits set out below.  However, obtaining material from another library is an expensive service and we request that you use the ILR service only for essential materials.

    Interlibrary Requests obtained within the UK are free of charge up to the following limits per year (limits run from 1st September - 31st August):

    • Undergraduates - 20 requests 
    • Postgraduates - 50 requests
    • Staff - 50 requests
    • Faculty - 50 requests 
    • Associate - 5 requests

    There are charges for obtaining a loan or photocopy of an article from abroad.  Details of these can be found on our Charges and loan periods page.

    Please note, once the annual limit has been reached requests will be charged at the full rate of £18.00 for a loan and £12.00 for a photocopy. 

  • Charges and loan periods
    • Interlibrary Requests obtained within the UK are free of charge up to the following limit per year (limits run from 1st September - 31st August):

      • 20 Interlibrary Requests for undergraduates
      • 50 requests for postgraduates, academic and research staff
      • 5 requests for associate members of staff

        Once the annual limit has been reached requests will be charged at the full rate of £18.00 for a loan and £12.00 for a photocopy.
    • If you have requested a book, we will offer access to an ebook where available or alternatively a print copy will be sourced from another library.

    • Most Interlibrary Requests are supplied to us by the British Library Document Supply Centre within a week. We will notify you by email if there is likely to be a delay obtaining an item. 

    • Most loans are available for a four-week loan period. A charge of £4.00 will apply for any renewals. All renewed Interlibrary Requests are subject to recall and one week's notice will be sent to the borrower if the loan period is reduced by the lending library.

    • Please return Interlibrary Loans promptly. Fines on overdue Interlibrary loans are 50p per day per item, to a maximum of £10.00 per item. An invoice warning notice will be sent out seven days after an Interlibrary loan is overdue. Failure to return overdue items within seven days of this notice will result in an invoice charge being raised for the British Library standard charge of £214.30.

    Additional services and charges:

    • obtaining a loan of an item from abroad - £20
    • obtaining a photocopy of an article from abroad - £10
    • obtaining a loan of an item not related to you University work - £18.00
    • obtaining a photocopy of an item not related to your University work - £12.00

    If you would like Interlibrary Request charges to be cross-charged to an expenditure code, vouchers can be ordered from the Interlibrary Request office using the ILR Vouchers Request Form.

    Interlibrary loans requested by external borrowers will be for use in the Library only (£18.00)

  • EthoS

    EThOS is a service providing access to the electronic full text of UK doctoral theses. If you are unable to obtain a digitised copy of the thesis you require through the EThOS service, please contact Interlibrary Requests as it may be possible to obtain a loan of the hard-copy direct from the University concerned. Further information about access to theses is available from the Theses and Dissertations Subject Guide

  • Systematic reviews

    The library has revised the support it gives to groups of researchers carrying out externally funded Systematic Reviews. If you are conducting a Systematic Review, we ask that you inform the Research Support team at library.researchsupport@sussex.ac.uk or 01273 877941 (x7941).

    If you tell us we can:

    • ensure that the Systematic Review does not adversely impact on your personal ILR allowance - we can note that the increased number of ILRs being placed through an account is for a Systematic Review and organise some flexibility around collecting ILRs which were placed by another member of the research team.
    • fulfil requests more effectively - advance knowledge of Systematic Reviews taking place means we can allocate staffing resources appropriately based on the anticipated number of requests. We can then give you a realistic turnaround time for requests.
    • gather useful information for future Systematic Reviews - historically there was no clear picture of how many ILRs submitted were for Systematic Reviews. The new system clearly distinguishes between departmental ILRs and those for Systematic Reviews. This means you have an accurate picture of the actual number of requests submitted for each review.

    We hope that this  policy will simplify procedures and allow the Library to support this research activity most effectively.

 

Frequently asked questions

  • How many items can I request?

    Interlibrary Requests obtained within the UK are free of charge up to the following limit per year (limits run from 1st September - 31st August): 20 Interlibrary Requests for undergraduates, 50 requests for postgraduates, academic and research staff and 5 requests for associate members of staff. 

    There are charges for obtaining a loan or photocopy of an article from abroad.  Details of these can be found on our Charges and loan periods page.

    Please note, once the annual limit has been reached requests will be charged at the full rate of £18.00 for a loan and £12.00 for a photocopy.

  • How long does it take?

    Article requests take up to three working days to supply, depending on whether they are supplied electronically to your email address or a paper copy sent to your home address or collected from the Library. However, it may take longer if we are unable to source a copy from the British Library. Loan requests are usually supplied within ten working days, if held at the British Library or within two weeks if supplied by another university library.

  • How can I check the progress of my request?

    Sign in to  My Account from the  Library Search home page.

  • Can interlibrary loans be renewed online?

    Automatic renewal of interlibrary loans online is not possible as the items are on loan from another library and they have different lending and renewal periods to other items on loan to you. Please contact Interlibrary Requests a few days before an item is due for return to see if a renewal is possible. It is usually possible to renew an interlibrary loan for more days, unless it has been recalled by the lending library. The renewal charge is £4. 

    T 01273 678162
    E library.interlib@sussex.ac.uk
  • What are the fines on overdue interlibrary loans?

    There is a fine of 50p per day, up to a maximum of £10 per item. If an item is more than 3 weeks overdue, an invoice will be raised for the replacement cost. The British Library currently charge £214.30 for lost items.

  • Are there any copyright restrictions when requesting copies of materials?

    The following restrictions apply when requesting a copy of an extract from a published work:

    • only one article from a journal issue can be supplied
    • only one chapter from a book can be supplied
    • the copy can be used only for research for a non-commercial purpose or private study
    • the copy may not be further supplied to another person
    • the copy should not have previously been supplied to you
    • to the best of your knowledge, no other person with whom you 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 substanitally the same purpose.
  • Is there any material that it's difficult to get through the Interlibrary Request service?

    Through the Interlibrary network of lending libraries, we can obtain a wide range of material. However, some material such as pre-1890 publications, copies of print theses, material held in special collections and archives as well as material in high demand are not always available to lend. If this applies, we will contact you to let you know what options are available for accessing the material you have requested. 

    Access to Theses: UK and abroad

    Many doctoral theses are now available in full-text online, including through EThOS for UK doctoral theses and Proquest Dissertations and Theses for North American theses (1997 onwards). A small number of UK doctoral theses are still available to lend in hard copy from the institution of origin, so if not available on EThOS, a request can be made to obtain a loan through the Interlibrary Request service. A selection of pre-2001 North American theses are available to lend from the British Library Document Supply Centre on microfilm or microfiche. Additionally, some research libraries in the UK may also hold copies of North American doctoral theses in print and may be willing to lend.

    Please see our Library Guide for further details regarding access to Theses and Dissertations.

Contact information

T 01273 678162 (internal 8162)
E library.interlib@sussex.ac.uk
Interlibrary Requests, The Library, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QL.