There are annual and concurrent limits for the number of ILL items that we supply to each of our DMU students, researchers and staff (see tables below). This helps our workflow so that we can manage and process the requests more effectively for our users.
To help us to continue to deliver an excellent service to you, please remember the following top tips:
User category | Maximum number of ILL items supplied each Academic Year* |
---|---|
Partner College Students and Staff | ILL requests are not permitted |
DMU 1st and 2nd year Undergraduates | ILL requests are not permitted** |
DMU 3rd and 4th year Undergraduates | Up to 25 ILL items may be supplied |
DMU Taught Postgraduates | Up to 25 ILL items may be supplied |
DMU Postgraduate Research Students | Up to 25 ILL items may be supplied |
DMU Staff | Up to 25 ILL items may be supplied |
* If you need to request further ILL item(s) from another library, and you have already used up your annual entitlement, please contact your Subject Librarian before placing your request.
** 1st and 2nd year undergraduates at DMU should contact their Subject Librarian if they need access to ILL items, and permission will be granted if there are exceptional circumstances. However, 2nd year DMU undergraduates may submit ILL requests from the beginning of the Summer Term of their course, in preparation for their Final Year dissertation, without needing to refer to their Subject Librarian.
We have a limit on the number of Inter-Library Loan (ILL) items that you can request and have outstanding at any one time. This is to allow us time to process the request, to locate which library in the UK may hold the item you want, to request and obtain that item, and also to enable us to provide a good service to all our customers who are using the service. Please check that your ILL request is within these limits before submitting your request.
Once we have processed your initial batch of requests and after you have collected/downloaded the items, we can then process further requests if you have them, again within the concurrent limit.
User Category | Maximum number of concurrent ILL requests per person |
Partner College Students and Staff | ILL requests are not permitted |
DMU 1st and 2nd year Undergraduates | ILL requests are not permitted* |
DMU 3rd and 4th year Undergraduates | 5 |
DMU Taught Postgraduates | 5 |
DMU Postgraduate Research Students | 10** |
DMU Staff | 10** |
* 1st and 2nd year DMU undergraduates should contact their Subject Librarian if they need access to ILL items, and permission will be granted if there are exceptional circumstances. However, 2nd year DMU undergraduates may submit ILL requests from the beginning of the Summer Term of their course, in preparation for their Final Year dissertation, without needing to refer to their Subject Librarian.
** Requests for additional concurrent items may be agreed if they are needed for your research; please contact your Subject Librarian to discuss this.
In addition to the limits detailed on this page, we cannot process your ILL request if one or both of the following apply:
It is free for eligible DMU staff, visiting academics, researchers, and students to request ILLs for academic purposes.
Charges for uncollected items
If three ILL items are not collected/downloaded before the expiry date on the item, we will suspend your eligibility to request ILL items. We will not process any further requests from you for items from other libraries, unless you contact us to let us know of extenuating circumstances.
Charges for overdue or lost items
You will be charged overdue fees of £6.25 for each ILL item that is not returned to us by the Due Date. This is because we have to pay for both the original loan of the item, and any further charges if it subsequently goes overdue.
Also there are substantial charges that you will have to pay for any items that are lost or damaged whilst in your possession, so please take care of any ILL items supplied to you. Always return ILL items via a 'Signed For' service to provide proof of postage/receipt, if you post them back to us. British Library will charge a substantial Admin fee and a replacement fee, which you will have to pay if an ILL item is lost or damaged.