At the University Library you have access to a huge range of material for your research and learning including over 2 million books, archives, instruments and artworks, over 2 million e-books and 330,000 e-journals, as well as 1000s of streaming videos, digital scans, databases, and more.

But when you are doing your own research there will be times you come across items or material that our Library does not have in its collections. Don’t panic! There are options available to help you get what you need.

But first…

Have you searched our library catalogue, DiscoverEd, to check if the Library has what you are looking for? This may seem obvious, but people do forget or make assumptions so make sure you have searched DiscoverEd.
If the Library does have what you need but the item is on loan, or is only available in print and you cannot get to the Library then there are options available to you. We’ll come back to these at the end…

If you have checked DiscoverEd and the Library definitely doesn’t have what you need then you may want to try one, or more, of the following:

1) Student Request a Book (RaB)

If there is a book you require for your learning or research that is not in the Library you can ask the Library to try and buy it for our collections. The Library has an e-preference policy so will look for a library-licenced e-book first, but if this is not available a print copy will be searched for instead.

Access the online form to submit a request at:
Request a Book service for students (RaB)

Staff can also submit requests for books. If the book is required for teaching purposes, then you must submit the request via your course Resource List. If the book is required for research purposes, then you must submit the request via the online book recommendation forms.

Do note that during busy periods there may be delays in responding to requests.

2) Inter-Library Loans (ILL)

Inter-Library Loans (ILL) can try and borrow books from other libraries or get a scan of a journal article or book chapter from other libraries on your behalf. And this can sometimes be a quicker way of getting hold of something than RaB.

You can submit ILL requests via DiscoverEd, just click on the INTER LIBRARY LOAN REQUEST option in the top menu. And choose the relevant “Citation Type” for your request, either Book/Chapter or Journal/Article.

Students (and staff) all get a set free quota of ILL requests per academic year. See Paying for Interlibrary Loans for more information.

For full details on the ILL service and how to place requests please see Interlibrary Loans.

3) Using other libraries

Part of the research experience is getting to know and use other libraries and their collections, and in some instances this may be the quickest way to get hold of material our library does not have.

You can search merged catalogues such as JISC Library Hub Discover or WorldCat to see which libraries hold what you are looking for, these include university and other HEI libraries, reserach libraries, specialist libraries, museum libraries, etc. And the vast majority of libraries will allow you to search their online catalogue, even if you are not a member.

National Library of Scotland (NLS)

At the University of Edinburgh we are lucky to have the National Library of Scotland (NLS) on our doorstep (less than a 5 minute walk from our Main Library). The NLS is one of six legal deposit libraries in the UK and Ireland, which means they can claim a copy of anything published in the UK and Ireland but they also receive publications from governement agencies. This means they have extensive collections, both physical and online, and complimentary collections to our own library.

While the NLS is not a lending library i.e. you can’t borrow items, they have large reading room facilities you can use to get access to material. You can search their catalogue and find more information about them and their collections at www.nls.uk. You will also find information on their website about how to join their library and what ID you will require to do so.

SCONUL Access

If you are interested in using another university library in the UK or Ireland then SCONUL Access is what you need. This is a reciprocal access scheme that most universities in the UK and Ireland are members of. To use the scheme to get access to other university libraries you must first register online via the SCONUL Access website, this will also tell you if the library you wish to visit is part of the scheme.

You will need your current UoE student or staff card and the confirmation email from SCONUL to join another university library but you should also ensure you check with library you plan to visit if there are any local access arrangements you may have to follow or that take precedence.

Support your public library!

If you have a local public library then check what they have in their collections or if they have any resources or services you could make use of. In Edinburgh we have Edinburgh Libraries, with the large Central Library just a 5 minute walk from George Square (directly opposite the National Library of Scotland on George IV Bridge), as well as their many branch libraries across the city.

In general…

If there is a library you are interested in visiting or joining then contact them prior to your journey there to check if external users are permitted.

And there’s more…

If there is a journal or database the Library does not have and you would like us to consider getting, contact your Academic Support Librarian to discuss further. Or contact EdHelp who will pass your call onto appropriate library staff for consideration.

Book already on loan?

If you checked DiscoverEd and the Library does have the book you require but it is already on loan i.e. someone else has already borrowed it, then you can place a request on this via DiscoverEd.

Requests can be placed on Short Loan/HUB Short Loan or Standard Loan items. Standard Loan items will be recalled from the current borrower and they will have 7 days to return the item (unless due date is sooner). When the book you have requested is returned you will be notified to come and collect it from the library.

It is always worthwhile placing the request, as books are automatically renewed if they have no requests on them. If you do not place the request you could be waiting a long time for the book to become available again.

Note that requests cannot be placed on Reserve/HUB Reserve items.

For more information see Requesting an item which is on loan.

Need a single chapter or article from print item but unable to get to Library?

You can request a scan of a journal article or book chapter via the Scan & Deliver service, when an item is only available in print in the Library and you are unable to get to the Library to access it.

Scan & Deliver requests are placed via DiscoverEd. For more information see Scan & Deliver.

Note that copyright laws limit the Library to scanning 1 single journal article of 1 single chapter from a book. The Library is unable to scan more than this or scan an entire book or journal issue/volume.

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So if you can’t find what you need in our library don’t forget there are options available to you.

If you would like further advice, contact your Academic Support Librarian.

For more tips and guides on How to Library check out our Instagram or search for #UoEHowToLibrary.