Inter Library Loans

The purpose of the service is to provide items or photocopies of material which are not in any library in Aberystwyth, or available via an electronic source.

Books and periodicals held in British libraries are usually obtained speedily provided you give a full and accurate reference for the item you require. Material can be borrowed from libraries abroad, but these items may take some time to arrive.

Inter-library loan charges

There are costs attached to using this service, both to the library and to you, so you are asked to request only items which you really need. 
Please check in Primo - the Library catalogue  and National Library of Wales catalogue to ensure that the item you require is not available locally before submitting an Inter-library loan (ILL) request.
Please also note that services are available that give you electronic access to the full text of some journals from any computer on campus.  For details, see the Electronic Information Resources page.

* prices exclude copyright fees

Making a request

Requests for inter-library loans can be made on request forms available from all libraries.

Requests can also be made directly on to Primo - the Library catalogue by choosing the "make a request" button at the top right of the page and logging in where prompted.
Please ensure the author, title and year fields are accurately completed. Forms with incomplete information may result in delays in processing.
British theses, which require a copyright declaration to be signed in advance of the request being sent, must, in all cases, be applied for on an inter library loan form.
Inter-library loan requests will not appear on your Primo user account.
Any items that you wish to collect from Thomas Parry or Physical Sciences libraries, must be requested either by completing a written form and submitting this to the relevant library or by applying online.

Secure Electronic Delivery (SED)

Journal articles ordered on inter-library loans can be supplied online, directly to your desktop, using the Secure Electronic Delivery (SED) service from the British Library. With Secure Electronic Delivery, documents arrive quickly direct to your desktop and are accessible to you anywhere via a link from your email.

Make your inter-library loan request as usual. We email you with a link to the document you requested. To view and/or print the document, you will require the free web plug-in FileOpen installed on your computer (see below).

Open the email in html and click the link to access your request.  Check that all the pages are present and print a single copy immediately. You are permitted to make only one paper copy from the electronic copy. The link is 'live' for fourteen days and your document must be downloaded and printed within that time. The document may only be viewed on the computer on which it has been opened. SED documents are only available in black and white. If, for any reason, you cannot access your document in time, please contact Inter-Library Loans for advice.

Fileopen is a plug-in which works with Adobe Reader to allow you to open your document within the 14 day download window and print it out once. FileOpen can be downloaded free of charge. Instructions on downloading FileOpen on your computer are available at the British Library web site. This page also has a test document for you to make sure your computer is set up correctly. Please note that the Fileopen plugin does not currently work for Linux systems with Acrobat Reader version 9.

If you have any problems or require further information, please contact Inter-Library Loans.

Checking the progress of requests

Once you have submitted your request, it will be checked and approved by Customer Services staff, then sent electronically to the lender, which, in most cases, will be the British Library Document Supply Centre. You will be notified, usually by email, if a request is significantly delayed, or cannot be satisfied.

Collecting inter library loans

You will be notified when the request is ready for collection, either by email or on paper. Please collect it from the Enquiry Desk of the relevant Library.
Charges will be levied when the item is collected.
If the request is for loan, it will be issued in the normal way so you must have your Aber card with you.
If the request is sent as a photocopy for you to keep, we are obliged by law to ask you to sign a copyright declaration before you can collect it. As this cannot be done when you make the request on Primo, you will have to sign when you pick up the request. Please note that this must be the signature of the original requester.
Items should be returned by the date shown on the slip inside.
Fines will be levied on overdue items.
Please note that some items may arrive for use in the library only. This stipulation is from the issuing library and Customer Services does not know the status until the item arrives.

Renewal of inter-library loans

The British Library have introduced a new automatic renewals procedure. Towards the end of the loan period a renewal pending notice will be sent. Please contact us on or before the renewal date if you wish to renew. We will then apply  for permission to renew the item and let you know the outcome. If you do not want to keep the item any longer it should be returned immediately.  Please note we cannot keep inter-library loans indefinitely.