Go to University of St Andrews home Interlibrary Loans

Skip Navigation

SAULCAT : FAQ :  Back

what is 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 eg 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-1840 material, manuscripts and maps.

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 cupport the full cost of obtaining items from abroad, but will contribute towards the cost with the requester paying the majory element. Items obtained from abroad are always for use in the Library only.
Photocopies are cheaper than loans costing £10-£15 per article.


Theses

UK and Irish Theses:
Most are available to borrow via ILL, if already in BL stock they will come in microfilm format, if not held by BL we may be able to borrow directly from the awarding institution.


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 in paper or PDF format.
St Andrews University subscribes to ProQuest Digital Dissertations and this gives online access to citations and abstracts for every title in the Dissertation Abstracts database.
Titles published since 1997 are available in PDF digital format and have 24 page previews.
To access this information visit http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/gateway

how do I make a request?

  • first, please ensure that the item you need is not already held by the Library - check SAULCAT for post-1972 material; PAGE-CAT for earlier material
  • 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 and students 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 (Mon - Fri; 9.00 - 5.00).

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 eg 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 ILL or if closed from the Service Desk staff.

Articles

Periodical articles are normally supplied as photocopies for you to keep, and are sent addressed to you at your department address.
Staff and Postgraduates using the Secure Electronic Document (SED) service will receive an email from the British Library with a web link to their requested document. This link remains active for 14 days only, it is essential to open and print the document as soon as possible. (see information on What is Secure Electronic Document Delivery)

For use in Library only items

Some items eg theses, microfilms, foreign material, are lent to us for use in the Main Library only, and must be returned to the ILL department 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.
If the ILL department is closed, the material will be available from the Service Desk staff.

what is Secure Electronic Document Delivery (SED)

You can request via the St Andrews ILL online web form to have articles delivered from the British Library directly to your desktop in electronic format as an Adobe PDF file. To read and print these articles it necessary to have downloaded Adobe Reader version 6 or preferably 7 on your PC and activated the Digital Rights Management function prior to submitting your first SED requests.

 

Adobe Reader versions: Please note that Adobe Reader version 8 does not support SED. If you use or expect to use SED, do not upgrade to version 8. If you have already upgraded to version 8, you should uninstall it and download version 7.0.9 from the Adobe website. If you have any problems with this, please contact the Helpdesk in the Library: helpdesk@st-andrews.ac.uk
Currently this service is only available to staff and postgraduates but interested undergraduates can apply to ill@st-andrews.ac.uk for information on SED, but be aware there are cost implications when printing out the delivered articles.

how long can I keep the item

The loan period is stipulated by the lending library.
The British Library loan period is 5/6 weeks, the first 3 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 3-6 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 (Mon - Fri; 9.00 - 5.00) at least 3 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 Schools 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 requests to ill@st-andrews.ac.uk

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 3 Day 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 outwith 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?

It 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 on ext: 2285 (Mon - Fri; 9.00 - 17.00), or e-mail: ill@st-andrews.ac.uk