Please read our FAQs below if you are a regular user of British Library services or use our University’s Inter-Library Loan service.
Requesting books, articles, reports, conference papers, and theses not held at Herts
What is an Inter Library Loan (ILL)?
Who can use the ILL services and is there a cost?
Articles, reports, book chapters, and conference papers
What is an Inter Library Loan (ILL)?
When that essential journal article, report, or book you need is not held by the UH library, the Inter Library Loans (ILLs) service will try to get it for you. The ILL team can supply print book loans; articles; reports; conference papers and theses for your private studies or research, we request them on your behalf from other institution libraries including the British Library.
We use a range of services to supply articles, theses and book chapters in PDF formats for you to keep and print books which are loaned to you, loan terms are set by individual lenders and are usually about 4 -6 weeks.
Who can use the ILL services and is there a cost?
All registered students and staff at the University of Hertfordshire (UH) can request items to support their private research or studies. This service is free of charge to all our students and staff, although there is a cost to the library.
The British Library charges a minimum of £214.30 for the replacement of items which are long overdue or damaged or lost and this cost is charged to the borrower responsible and includes a non-refundable administrative charge of £107.15 plus VAT. This charge is subject to an annual rise in August.
Before placing a request
Please check Library Search to make sure that you can't access the item you want immediately from the library's own collections.
Please check that your library account is not blocked for any reason, as print loans cannot be checked out to a blocked account.
If we are unable to supply your requested item, the ILL team will notify you by email.
Top tips
- For quick and easy journal article requests, adding in the DOI auto-populates the form, you should check details and add any missing information before requesting. If possible, include the ISSN as this really speeds up your request, it is often listed in the article's record /bibliographic information. Or try searching on this database https://portal.issn.org
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Book chapter requests require the book ISBN, pages and publication year to automate and speed up the process.
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Conference papers and reports should be requested as an article if published in a journal or as a book chapter with ISBN if published as part of a book series.
How to place your request
- Log into Studynet, click on the Online Library tab and select the "Check my library account" link.
- Click on the ‘your Inter Library Loan requests’ tab and select + Create a New Request.
- There is a direct link to the book loan request form, which requires no copyright declaration.
- To access the form for articles, chapters and Theses, a copyright declaration is required, click “Yes” to confirm your request is compliant.
- The default form is for an article, please select from the drop-down menu the appropriate form for your request.
- Complete the relevant fields with as much information as you can then ‘Make Request’. If a local copy is available a link to the item will appear. If it is not available to download from that link you should make your request.
Accessibility: To request a lower level locker for accessibility, email ill@herts.ac.uk once you have placed your request, and please include the request ID in the subject of the email.
Please note print books can take up to two weeks to arrive and need to be collected from the LRC Collect & Drop Off lockers on the Campus, selected when making your request. You will receive an email with collection information when the book has been received by the ILL team. Please see print book loans for more information.
Articles, reports, book chapters, and conference papers
- As soon as it has been submitted, confirmation of your request will appear on the ILL tab of your Library Account, you can check the status of all your ILL requests there at any time.
- Your request will be sent to an external institution. Depending on availability and the information submitted, a link to a PDF, or occasionally an attachment will be delivered to your email within one to five working days.
- Contact ill@herts.ac.uk if your request status shows as Completed but you have not received your email. Please include the Request ID in your query.
- Links are only active for 30 days after receipt so please download your item as soon as possible. We recommend that you rename the file to make it easier to find later.
Theses
We can purchase ProQuest theses for you, please request using the Thesis form from the drop-down menu on ‘your Inter Library Loan requests’ tab of your library account on StudyNet2/ Online library. You will receive an email with a link usually within a few working days. The British library EThOS service is still unavailable due to their Cyber-attack.
The British Library is working to restore access to EThOS, their online catalogue, which now provides access to digital doctoral theses held in UK institutional repositories - Using Advanced search and selecting 'Theses' from 'Material Type' dropdown menu is recommended. To access these documents, search for a thesis and then click on a title of interest to view the full details for that work. They will show either as Available Online with a link or a red box with 'This item is not currently available'.
Print book loans
Before requesting print books, please check that your library account is not blocked for any reason, as print loans cannot be checked out to a blocked account. Print books can take up to two weeks to arrive and need to be collected from the LRC Collect & Drop Off lockers on the Campus, selected when making your request. You will receive an email with collection information when the book has been received by the ILL team. Please wait for the collection code email from noreply@mail.onarken.com before going to the LRC to collect your book. Access to the LRC Collect & Drop Off lockers is available 24/7 (except for published LRC closures).
Book loans are usually for 4 to 6 weeks depending on the lending library; the return due date will be shown on your library account and on the slip inside the book. Please collect your book promptly to gain the maximum loan period as loan extensions are at the discretion of the lender and may incur a further charge to the University.
Return your book loan in one of the black Book Return Boxes in the LRC at College Lane or de Havilland. It will be taken off your library account by library staff by the following day and you will receive an ‘Items returned to UH Library’ email and UH Mobile app notification.
Please ensure books are returned promptly. Late charges are not charged to the borrower but can be charged to the University and as a courtesy, we aim to return all borrowed books back to the lenders on time. Please contact the ILL team if you are unable to return a book on time.
Occasionally a Library may lend items for 'Reference-only' use, you will be notified by email if this is the case. You will only have access to the book within the LRC during staffed hours (10:00-17:30, except for Bank Holidays/Seasonal closures). Collection is from the LRC Welcome desk of the campus LRC selected on your request form, you will be required to show your ID card and must return the book to the Welcome desk by 17:30 the same day.
Contact
To contact the ILL team email ill@herts.ac.uk please include the request ID number in the query where possible. To contact the Helpdesk, Telephone +44 (0)1707 284678 from your mobile or use one of the phones located in the College Lane LRC and De Havilland LRC information points.