Inter-library loans
What are Inter-Library Loans?
The Inter-Library Loans/Document Delivery (ILL) Department of the university library exists to borrow material from other libraries in the UK and abroad, which this library does not hold. Only items which are not in stock will be requested.
Who may use the service?
Current staff and students of the university may make use of this service if they require an item for academic study or research. Requests for material for non-academic purposes are not accepted. Student request forms must be counter-signed by a member of teaching staff (Divinity and History postgraduates should refer all ILL requests to their school secretaries).
What does it cost?
Staff and postgraduate requests are monitored by the appropriate school. Undergraduates pay £1.00 as they submit each request. Each loan costs the library over £10.00, so please restrict requests to material essential for research and teaching.
Additional charges, available from the Inter-Library Loans staff, are payable on certain types of loans (e.g., copyright fee-paid requests, items from abroad). Contact ILL staff for details.
What can be obtained?
You may request books, articles, reports, theses, conference proceedings, patents, standards, etc. Material not freely available includes modern fiction, children's literature, music scores, pre-1900 material, manuscripts and maps, dvds and audio material.
If an item is unavailable within the UK either to borrow or purchase we can apply abroad.
International borrowing
International borrowing is an expensive service. The library cannot support the full cost of obtaining items from abroad, but will contribute towards the cost with the requester paying the major element. Items obtained from abroad are always for use in the library only. Photocopies are cheaper than loans costing £10-£15 per article.
Theses
EThOS (Electronic Theses Online Service)
Ethos is the new British Library (BL) electronic theses service. Most UK PhD theses can be scanned and added to this database.
If you require a UK thesis then please check EThOS first.
Many theses are available to download (free of charge) via the British Library (BL) scanning service EThOS.
There is a full list of participating libraries.
If the library holding the thesis you require is in BOLD then they are full participators in EThOS and will supply free of charge.
If the thesis you require is not on the BL database then log in and send a request to the BL for the thesis to be scanned. The BL will contact you, by e-mail, when the thesis has been scanned. You can then log in and download the thesis free of charge.
Non-participating libraries in EThOS (Libraries not in bold)
If the library is not in bold then please check EThOS first for the thesis. If the thesis is not available then please put a request into the Inter Library Loan Department and we will request the thesis for you from the awarding university as a hard copy.
North American theses
Pre 1999 the BL purchased North American theses on demand and from this stock we can borrow on your behalf. If not held at the BL many North American dissertations are available for purchase paper or PDF format.
The University of St Andrews subscribes to Proquest Dissertations and Theses - Full Text. This gives online access to every title in the Dissertation Abstracts database.
How do I make a request?
- First, please ensure that the item you need is not already held by the Library - check SAULCAT the online catalogue. This contains most books and periodicals held by the Library and is searchable by Author, Title, Keyword(s). If you don’t find what you want in SAULCAT then try PAGE-CAT which lists older books, received by the Library before 1972, some of which have not yet been transferred to SAULCAT. Search PAGE-CAT by Author.
- You should also check the catalogues of University of Dundee and University of Abertay Dundee libraries - you may borrow directly from them as we have reciprocal borrowing privileges.
- If the item is not available locally, current staff, postgraduate students, third and fourth year undergraduates may use the online Inter-Library Loan request facility. Try to include all the information asked for, especially where the original details of the required item were found. All other users must apply to the ILL Department (Monday - Friday; 9.00am - 5.00pm).
If you cannot provide all the details of the item you need, please consult staff at the ILL Enquiry Desk.
How long does it take?
We cannot guarantee to obtain any item within a specified period. The time taken for requests to arrive varies considerably, from a few days for straightforward requests (for example, articles from major periodicals), to several months for foreign requests. ILL staff are able to supply progress reports on request.
How will I receive my request?
Books
You will be notified by email when your material is available. We hold all books sent on loan until they are due to go back to the lending library and they can be collected from the Reader Services Desk on Level 2.
Articles
Periodical articles from the British Library will be supplied to your desktop by Secure Electronic Delivery (SED) unless you request a photocopy. You will receive an email from the British Library with a web link to the requested document. This link remains active for 30 days, it is essential to open and print the document as soon as possible. (see information below on Secure Electronic Document Delivery). All IT classroom machines can now support the delivery of SED documents.
For use in Library only items
Some items (e.g. theses, microfilms, foreign material) are lent to us for use in the Main Library only, and must be returned to the Reader Services Desk after each consultation. Please be aware that this restriction has been imposed on us by the lending library. This material can be accessed for consultation any time the library is open and staffed, there is no restriction on the number of times you can consult it during its loan period.
What is Secure Electronic Document Delivery (SED)
You can request via the St Andrews ILL online web form and articles delivered from the British Library will come directly to your desktop in electronic format as an Adobe PDF file. To read and print these articles it necessary to have Adobe Reader version 4 upwardson your PC prior to submitting your first SED requests. See: BL website.
If you have any problems with this, please contact the helpdesk in the Library. This service is available to staff, postgraduates, third and fourth year undergraduates and all IT classroom machines can now support the delivery of SED documents.
How long can I keep the item?
The loan period is stipulated by the lending library. The British Library loan period is five-six weeks, the first three weeks are a guaranteed loan period, the remaining weeks are an extension to the loan period and are subject to immediate recall if required by other readers.
Other libraries loan periods vary between three-six weeks but be aware that such loans are subject to immediate recall. If you are asked to return any item please do so, or we risk losing our rights to future borrowing.
Renewing a loan
Most items can be renewed, if necessary, providing they are not required by another reader. If you would like to renew a loan, please bring it to the ILL Department in the Main Library (Monday - Friday; 9.00am - 5.00pm) at least three days before the due date. A charge is made for each item renewed.
Can I cancel a request?
Once a request has been processed and sent to the BL we can only cancel if it is placed on a waiting list or lost. If we are cancelling because it is a waiting list, we have to wait for confirmation of cancellation before forwarding on to another location for supply.
Returning loans or recalled items
Please return all items which you receive on loan promptly. This is particularly important because we rely on the goodwill of other libraries to lend us material.
Overdue, damaged and lost items
Fines are levied on all overdue items. If you are unable to return the item because you are ill or the item has been lost, you must contact the ILL department immediately to avoid additional fines. You are responsible for all fines incurred as a result of the late return, loss or damage to any item borrowed via the ILL system. Replacement costs and administration charges are those specified by the lending library. The British Library imposes very heavy penalties for the late or non-return of its material, current charge for a lost or seriously overdue item £125.
Supervisor authorisation
Academic staff are responsible for authorising all requests submitted by students for material not held in library stock. This ensures that only material essential to their studies is requested or it may draw attention to material which may be of interest to other members of the school and which should be considered for purchase rather than requesting an ILL. To suggest it for purchase contact your school's library representative.
St Andrews Part Time and Distance Learning Students
This service is available to all members of the University including those living out with St Andrews. Please contact the ILL department for information on how we can best help you to obtain the material not held in UL stock.
Information for other Libraries
Please email your requests. We do not lend out periodical issues but will photocopy from stock within copyright guidelines. We can provide loans from our standard stock post-1900 unless in heavy demand or in a fragile condition. All loans are recallable if required by our own readers. Not available for loan: Short Loan or Multiple Copy (MC) material, audio-visual, reference or special collection material.
We do not recall to supply or reserve but will try to advise on a date for reapplication. If an item is lost we charge the borrowing library the replacement cost plus a handling charge.
UK libraries
Quote your request reference number and BL account number. We accept SILLR and CONARLS requests.
Non UK libraries
On application we will advise of the cost to supply, we accept IFLA vouchers, credit/debit cards or sterling cheques drawn on a UK bank and made payable to University of St Andrews. All St Andrews material loaned out with the UK and Ireland is for ‘Use In Library Only’ and not for home reading. Items should be returned by airmail insured/compensated post.
What if I need help?
If you need a large number of requests, it may be quicker or cheaper to visit another library rather than to make Inter-Library Loan requests. ILL or Reference staff can advise you on locating material held at other libraries.
Further information
If you have questions relating to any aspect of the Inter-Library Loans service, please contact the ILL staff in the Main Library or ext: 2285 (Monday - Friday; 9.00am - 5.00pm).
