Inter Library Loan Service

This page gives information about our Inter Library Loan Service for Heriot-Watt staff and students.  There is also a page giving information about the Inter Library Loan services for individuals and institutions outside Heriot-Watt University.

The Inter Library Loan Service supports University research by obtaining material which is not readily available locally.   If this library does not have a copy of a book, journal, article or other publication you need to consult for your research, the Inter Library Loan (ILL) service will try to borrow it or obtain it from another library for you. The ILL service is available to staff, postgraduate students and undergraduate students in their 4th or 5th years, who are based on the University’s Scottish campuses.  You need to register to use the service before requesting items.
The ILL staff in Riccarton Library can give you more information about the service: phone ext 3575; email libill@hw.ac.uk

• Who can use the ILL service
• Registering for the ILL service
• What the service offers
• What the service costs
• How many requests can you make
• Before you request an item
• How to request an item
• Secure Electronic Delivery (SED)
• Waiting for your request
• When your request arrives
• Returning or renewing items
•  

The service is available on the Scottish campuses to:

• Staff
• Postgraduate students
• Undergraduates in their 4th or 5th year

The service is not available to Undergraduates in 1st – 3rd year, as their course requirements should be met from the resources available locally; please consult your Subject Librarian or your lecturer if you have questions about accessing material for your coursework.

A limited service is available to students studying on Distance Learning programmes.   We are able to supply copies of articles and chapters from books to Distance Learning students; however, due to the method of delivery we are unable to provide complete books.  For more information, please see our Distance Learning Support pages.

At present the service is not available to staff or students based on the Dubai Campus; please consult the staff in the Dubai Campus Library for information about local arrangements for accessing material held in other libraries in Dubai.

At present the service is not available to staff or students based on the Malaysia Campus; local arrangements for accessing material held in other libraries will be developed once the Library service is established.

The service is not available to staff or students at Approved Learning Partners; please consult the Library at your ALP for information about local arrangements to access material not held in the ALP’s Library.

External Borrowers may use the service, and are charged a flat rate of £20 per request

To register for the service:

• Go to https://clioweb.hw.ac.uk/login.aspx and login using your Heriot-Watt username and password.
• Fill in the Personal Information form.  Please note: we use email to communicate with you about your requests and to deliver materials in digital format, so please make sure your email address is entered correctly.

You can then make Inter-Library Loan requests using the online forms

.
Please Note:  If you're uncertain about your HW username and password, you can check it by logging into HW Webmail.  Contact the IT Help Desk (ITHelp@hw.ac.uk) if you're having problems logging in to the online ILL service, mentioning the Clio ILL system.
 

The Inter Library Loan Service is part of a national network which enables the Library to obtain material for your University research, teaching or administration which is not readily available locally. Requests for material for leisure activities should be directed to the public library.

ILL requests are sent electronically, ensuring as fast a service as possible.
 

The Library is charged for every Inter Library Loan request sent to another Library.  Registered users of the ILL service may make a number of requests each year free of charge, with the Library covering the cost.  If you wish to request additional items, you may be charged for these.

Requests for standard material e.g. books, articles, conference papers cost around £10.00 per request.  Requests for certain types of material, e.g. theses and Standards are significantly more expensive.

Charges are also made by some lending libraries for such things as failure to return a loan on time.  Any charges made by a lending library will be passed on to you. 

The Library will cover the cost of your requests each year, up to the limit specified below.  Premium requests include theses and standards.  You may be charged for any additional requests above the limit.

Please be sure you really need the item.  Check the Library's catalogue, or the list of journals we subscribe to, to make sure that the item you want is not available in this Library.

The item you require may be available in another library in Edinburgh, so you should check their catalogues.  If you need help with this, just ask. 
If you only need to check a reference, e.g. to find an author's name, the information may be available in the Library -  just ask if you simply want to verify a reference.

An abstract of the item may be available in one of the databases and other electronic resources to which the Library subscribes. This may help you to evaluate the reference and may make an inter-library loan unnecessary. Please  ask if you need help tracing an abstract.

If you need to refer to the item on a long-term basis, or if it is likely to be of continuing use to others, it may be more appropriate for us to purchase a copy for the Library. Please contact your School Library Representative in such cases.

As all article and chapter requests are delivered via SED, please ensure you have the correct software installed on your PC or laptop before you make a request.
 

You request books, periodical articles and other documents through our online request service. You must be registered to use the service, and will have to enter your Heriot-Watt username and password.

• Make a separate request for each item you require.
• Give all the details you have EXACTLY as given in the reference - do not either expand or abbreviate periodical titles.
• Always make sure you can provide us with a copy of your original source of reference (i.e. where you got your information from)  if requested.
• Make sure you indicate your agreement to the Copyright statement in the space provided on the form.  We cannot process your request until this has been done.
• Please Note:  As most article and chapter requests are delivered via Secure Electronic Delivery (SED), please ensure you have the correct software installed on your PC or laptop before you make a request.

SED is a service from the British Library, which supplies most of our ILL photocopies.  Instead of the British Library printing a copy of an article and posting it, they put a copy on their web server for you to read or print out.  You will get an email to your University email address to tell you when it is ready. 

You have a limited time in which to access your requested articles.  You must download the document within 30 days, and will be able to view it on your computer for 14 days.  You may only print the document once within those 14 days.

You must have some specialist software installed on your computer before you can read a document sent by SED.  Find out more about SED and the necessary software requirements..
 

Most requests are supplied within a week. However, it may take longer if the item you request is out of the ordinary, or in great demand, or if the details you supply are incomplete or inaccurate. You can use the online service to check the progress of your requests. You may also ask the Inter-Library Loan staff (ext. 3575, libill@hw.ac.uk) if you wish.

Please let us know as soon as possible if you no longer require an item.

Please reply quickly to any mail from us asking for more details, or asking whether you still need an item we have been unable to obtain.
 

• Photocopies of articles are sent directly to your School (staff and postgraduates) or your term-time address (undergraduates).
• Electronic copies of articles are sent to your Heriot-Watt email address - please make sure it is correctly entered on your Personal Information page.
• Books and other requests for staff are sent to your School.
• Books and other requests for students are held in the Library for collection. You will be notified by email that the item is available, and you should collect and sign for the item from the ILL staff (Riccarton-based students) or the Service Desk staff (Scottish Borders Campus-based students).
• Some items, such as theses, may only be used in the Library. This is a condition of loan specified by the lending library.  We must comply with the terms of any loan; library staff cannot make exceptions to any conditions specified by lending libraries.  In such cases we will send you an email to inform you that the item is available for consultation in the Library.

The normal loan period for books is 5 weeks and they must be returned to the Inter Library Loan staff during this time.  Some libraries charge for the late return of loans.  The cost of any late fines/fees will be passed on to you.

Some libraries make a charge for any loans which are seriously late or are never returned.  The cost of any replacement cost or other charge will be passed on to you.  For loans from the British Library, you will be required to pay a charge of at least £147.20.

Loans may sometimes be extended - you can request this by contacting the Inter-Library Loan staff (ext 3575; email libill@hw.ac.uk) before the return date.  Some libraries charge for renewing/extending a loan.  The Library will cover the cost of the first renewal; you will be charged for any subsequent renewal as charged by the lending library.

A loan may be recalled from you if someone else needs it - you must return it by the date given on the notice sent to you.

Remember - Return all items to the Inter Library Loan staff; never return items direct to the lending library.

For help with Inter Library Loans, please contact:
Inter Library Loans
Heriot-Watt University Library
Edinburgh EH14 4AS
Phone  +44 131 451 3575
Email  libill@hw.ac.uk