Interlibrary Loans and Document Delivery
What can be requested?
Books
- Most books are readily available through interlibrary loan. Some exceptions include very old, rare, recently published or reference books. The loan period varies but is generally 4 weeks. In some cases a lending library stipulates that the book must be used in the Library only. Books may be recalled at any time.
Copies
- Libraries will not usually lend entire issues or volumes of journals but will photocopy particular articles. Under the provisions of The Copyright Law of Australia 1968, a maximum of one article may be requested from a given volume or issue unless the articles are part of a themed issue or are on a specific topic.
Readings required from a print source for copyright compliance
- Articles to be included in print readings or e-reserve/e-readers need to be from a print source and compliant with Australian Copyright Law. See instructions on how to make a request.
Conference papers
- Most published conference proceedings are readily available for loan, or alternatively, single papers can be photocopied.
Reports
- The Interlibrary Loans (ILL) team has a high success rate in obtaining technical and government reports. However, you may need to allow more time if we need to organise a purchase.
Theses
- Australian libraries will not lend original theses unless more than one copy is held. Requesters are urged to check arrow@UniSA the repository for UniSA theses and the Australian Digital Theses Program (opens in new window) for Australian theses. Most overseas theses are not available for loan and will need to be purchased. Contact Academic Library Services about purchasing a copy for the Library's collection.
Audiovisual material
- A wide range of films, videos, audiocassettes and microforms can be obtained through interlibrary loan. However not all libraries will lend items from their audiovisual collection and the loan period may be shorter than for a book loan.
- If you receive an item in microfiche or microfilm format, you can read the required pages using the readers located at each campus. If you need to print you can use the microfiche or microfilm printers located at the Magill, City East, and Mawson Lakes campus libraries. You may be notified by the ILL team asking if you accept microfiche/microfilm format
Patents
- Australian and international patents can be obtained through interlibrary loans and generally they will be for your retention.
Making a request
The Library has implemented new interlibrary loan management software to streamline the requesting process and to enable clients to track progress of current requests. During periods of high demand multiple requests will be processed in batches and we ask that you prioritise your requests in order of importance. Log on using your UniSA username ID and password to make a request.
To help us process your requests as quickly as possible it is important to:
- check the University of South Australia Library Catalogue (opens in new window) before submitting a request
- complete a separate interlibrary loan form for each item/document that you require
- complete all sections of the form and include as much bibliographical information as possible e.g. author, title, journal title, place of publication, date etc
- indicate the following:
- the delivery method you require
- if your request cannot be obtained in Australia whether you wish us to search overseas
- your source of reference
- the date after which you no longer require the item (if
applicable)
- meet Copyright compliance for "Readings required from a print source" by
- entering in caps 'SUPPLY FROM A PRINT SOURCE ONLY' in the further information field of the request form
- adding the copyright statement 'I require this copy for the purposes of
including the reproduction in the collection of the Library'
- if the request is urgent contact Interlibrary Loans and Document Delivery
Unfilled requests
Sometimes your request will be returned unfilled with a status report that outlines the problem. You may receive a reply notification report for the following reasons:
- the item is held by the University of South Australia Library and therefore cannot be requested on interlibrary loan
- insufficient or incorrect information provided to verify or locate the item
- the item is not available in Australia or overseas (depending on the options you selected on the request form)
- the item could not be obtained by the cancellation date specified on the request form
- duplicate requests
For more information contact Interlibrary Loans and Document Delivery