Inter-Library Loans (ILL) is a system which allows you to obtain material from other libraries which is not held here at Aston. We can normally obtain journal articles, books, conference papers, reports or theses from anywhere in the world.
Please check Library SmartSearch first to find out if the item is in stock here. Aston staff and researchers can order an ILL online via their own Library record http://library.aston.ac.uk/patroninfo. You will need to log in to your record with your barcode number and PIN, then select the link to Place an Inter-Library Loan Request.
Alternatively, you can download forms from our web site, or collect them from the Library.
There are four different forms
* You will need to order the whole issue of a journal, if you need more than one article from a specific year/month.
Please complete as much information as possible, but there are some essential details required -
- Books - Author, Title, Date and Publisher
- Journal articles - Title of journal, date, volume, page numbers and author and title of the article
- Conference papers - Title of conference, date of conference, publisher of conference, page numbers of paper and author and title of paper
- Theses - Title, Author, thesis type, date, place of publication/name of University
Please ask at the Help desk if you need help in completing the form. Always give details of your source of reference on the form.
Remember you need to sign the copyright declaration on the form.
In line with the EU Directive on Copyright every person must sign a declaration that any photocopy supplied is required for private study or research that is not for a commercial purpose. Copies required for a commercial purpose are subject to payment of a copyright fee.
Please note: Undergraduate students will require authorisation from their project supervisor before a request can be accepted in the Library.
Requests normally take approximately ten days to supply.
It is not possible to guarantee delivery, or to say precisely when an item will be supplied. Only one article can be supplied as a photocopy from any issue of a journal, due to copyright legislation.
Notification
When your book/journal is available for collection, you will be sent an email to your Aston email address. Photocopies will be sent to your post trays in the School and you are able to keep these.
Loans
Book/journal loans are for approximately 5 weeks, but are subject to recall.
Loans which are not returned on time will be automatically renewed by British Library Document Supply Centre (BLDSC) at a cost of £3.40. Overdue loans may be liable to a fine of £129.50. Some items will be for reference only within the Library building - these conditions are laid down by the lending library and have to be adhered to.
Renewals
If you require an item for longer than the normal loan period, you can apply to the Library for a further extension. This may be granted but you will have to pay £3.40 for this. Applications for extension of the loan have to be made to the Help desk.
If you have any queries regarding the Inter-Library Loans Service, please ask in the Library at the Help desk on ground floor (0121 204 4525).
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