Current University of Westminster staff and students.
Can't Find What You Need is our new combined service for purchasing books. If you previously used ILL, please now use this new service.
The Inter-Library Loans (ILL) service allows you to request and obtain research material such as books, chapters, articles and conference proceedings, that are not already held in the University of Westminster libraries, in any format.
Current University of Westminster staff and students.
This service is free of charge
Books, book chapters, journal articles and conference papers.
Patrons who wish to request a thesis from a UK University, are advised to check the EThOS database provided by the British Library, which contains information relating to doctoral theses produced by researchers within the UK. Click here to link to the EThOS database
If you would like to request a thesis from abroad, please contact the team who will advise if this is possible.
We aim to process your request within one working day.
We endeavour to supply book requests in digital format where available, as eBooks are usually available within a week. It may be possible to obtain a single chapter from a book – just remember to add the chapter details to your request.
We will try to source a physical copy if an eBook is not available. Please note that, although most ILL books can be borrowed, some are supplied as reference use and can only be read in the library.
A print book normally takes 2 weeks to arrive, but some items can take much longer based on their geographical location.
All journal articles are supplied electronically. We cannot supply whole issues of journals.
Articles delivered electronically normally arrive in 3 days if they are immediately available at the British Library, whilst items from other partners may take longer.
Articles and chapter are supplied electronically to your university email account. You will need to check your email inbox, and any junk or spam folders regularly.
Ebooks will be added to library stock, and it is your responsibility to check Library Search for access. If the book is not in stock within 2 weeks, or you have problems accessing the title, please contact the team.
Print books will be delivered to your chosen library. You will receive an email when the item is ready to be collected. Please note that all loans must be collected and returned in person from your chosen library counter. They must not be returned in the book bins.
The loan period varies and is dependent on the lending library but is usually between 2 to 8 weeks.
Items can be renewed once. Please contact the team to request a renewal. All renewals are at the discretion of the lending library and are subject to recall. We cannot always guarantee that an item can be renewed.
The interlibrary request service can be used to obtain material for research or private study. It cannot be used to obtain material intended to be shared with others, such as students. The University uses an Online Reading List system, which can be used to request books and other materials for teaching. Our Academic Engagement Librarians can help. Email them at AELD@westminster.ac.uk
We welcome non-commercial requests from external institutions. Institutions based in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland should apply via our email address, supplying your British Library Code and request number. We charge in line with current British Library charges. Institutions based abroad, should apply via our email address. Currently, we only accept IFLA vouchers as payment. Please note that we cannot supply PhD or MPhil dissertations. Many of our doctoral theses are available online, and can be accessed via our repository, WestminsterResearch or at the UK’s National thesis service, EThOS. Requests for hard copy PhDs to be digitised, should be made via EThOS.
Material acquired via Inter-library loan is subject to copyright law. This means that you can only request one article or chapter from a journal or book. If you require more than one chapter, we advise that you request the whole book. We can not supply journal issues. Each time you submit a request, you will be required to tick a box indicating that you have read and have agreed to abide by the rules set out below: 1). I have not previously been supplied with a copy of the same material by you or any other Librarian. 2). I will not use the copy except for research for a non-commercial purpose or private study and will not supply a copy of it to any other person. 3). To the best of my knowledge no other person with whom I work, or study has made or intends to make, at or about the same time as this request, a request for substantially the same material for substantially the same purpose. 4). I understand that if the declaration is false in a material particular, the copy supplied to me by you will be an infringing copy and I shall be liable for infringement of copyright as if I had made the copy myself. 5.) If this item was delivered by an electronic method, I will retain only a single paper copy and destroy any electronic copies after printing.