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University Library Services

Interlibrary Loans

A guide about how to request material not held in our collections or available through our subscriptions.
× IMPORTANT: At the end of October 2023, the British Library experienced a major technology outage as a result of a cyber-attack. The outage affected their website and online systems and services, including On Demand which we use to supply digital articles and single chapters. As of now, this service remains offline. You can continue to submit requests and we will send these to other higher education institutions, however, please note that fulfilling your request may take longer.

Yellow background with blue text saying Interlibrary loans receiving your request, next to a cartoon book.

Journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers will be supplied electronically where possible to your University of Sunderland e-mail address. Material supplied by the British Library can be accessed via a link they will send you in an e-mail. Once you receive this e-mail, you have 30 days to download the document. After that, it will no longer be available from the link you have been sent. Material supplied by other suppliers can either be accessed as a PDF attachment in an e-mail or via a secure link. In some instances, a physical non-returnable copy will be supplied which is yours to keep.

When your interlibrary loans have arrived, you will be notified that they are ready to collect. 

Physical items such as print books will need to be collected from St. Peter’s Library or Library@Murray as postal loans for this type of material are not possible. You can choose the collection site when placing your request. Please collect your interlibrary loans from the location you requested during our staffed helpdesk hours. You will need to bring your campus or staff card with you.