Interlibrary Loans

Requesting items not held in University of Auckland libraries.

Who may request an Interlibrary Loan

  • Students and University staff may use the Interlibrary Loan service.
  • The eligibility of Associate members for this service depends on their category of membership.

What you may request

  • You may request anything that is not held in the University of Auckland libraries. If an item is very expensive to obtain, we will discuss options with you.
  • You may not request items held in the University of Auckland libraries unless they are lost or missing.

How to request an Interlibrary Loan item

  • Interlibrary Loan Requests can now be made from within the Catalogue search results.
  • Simply type the title of the item (article/chapter/book) into the search bar.
  • If your item doesn't show in the search results listing follow the prompt "Expand your search" to see if other libraries own it.
  • If this is successful you can then click on "Get it from another library" and follow the prompts.
  • If you don't find what you need, you can click on "send a request" and complete an interloan request form.
  • Get started with the Interlibrary Loan service how to video.

Where to collect and return Interlibrary Loan items

Digital Items

  • Digital articles and chapters are accessed through a secure link sent to you by email.
  • The number of times an item can be accessed is limited to three. It is recommended that you download your digital item the first time you access it. 
  • Access to digital articles and chapters is also time-bound. There is a 30-day limit beginning from the delivery date. You will only be able to access your requested item within this time frame.

Physical Items

  • Physical items will be issued to your account once they have been received by the interloan team.
  • You will receive an email notification (activity summary) listing item(s) issued to your patron account.
  • Please allow 48 hours, once you have received notification, for your item(s) to be available from the helpdesk at your specified pickup location.

Returns

  • Return of physical interloan items, unless otherwise specified, can be done via the return slots of any of our libraries.
  • Returns of physical Interlibrary Loan items are only actioned in your library account within normal office hours, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm. Please allow for this when returning your physical Interlibrary Loan items.

How to renew your Interlibrary Loan

  • The option to renew an interlibrary loan is dependant on the lending library.
  • If the lending library has given an extended lending period (several months) then renewal of your loan is not likely to be an available option.
  • If the lending period offered to you is within shorter time frame then renewal may be possible.
  • For queries about renewing your interlibrary loan please use the Ask Us form.
  • Renewals, if permitted by lending library, are only actioned within normal office hours, Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm. Please allow for this when asking about a renewal for your interlibrary loan item.
  • You may request one article from a specific issue of a journal at any one time or two articles from the same journal issue if they are on the same topic.
  • You may only request items for University of Auckland research, teaching or study purposes.

Interlibrary Loan charges

All requests are provided at no charge except for the following:

Urgent requests

  • If your request is urgent and provided delivery times won't meet your needs, please utilise the notes section of your Interlibrary Loan Request form, to notify interloan staff that this request is urgent and required by a specific date.
  • The urgent service is available for electronic copy requests and physical items, e.g. books. Urgent requests for physical items are only sourced from Australia and New Zealand.
  • Urgent requests cost $20 (+GST) if obtained by the requested date.

Theses

  • Check to see if the thesis is available online in the sources listed on the Theses and dissertations page.
  • If a thesis is not available online, we may be able to obtain a loan or copy. Search the title in the online catalogue and use the prompt "Still didn't find what you need? Click here to send a request".
  • If it is only available as a copy, we will obtain a quote for you. If you agree to the charges, we will process the request and charge you accordingly.

How to pay your Interlibrary Loan charges

Charges are added to My Library Account and can be paid by a range of payment methods.