Document delivery

What is document delivery? 

Document delivery, also known as Inter-library loans, is a free service providing access to items not held by Library Services.

Who may use the Document Delivery Service

• OU staff involved in module production and staff or research students involved in University research or study who are registered with the library
• If you are not eligible to use document delivery there may be services available from libraries near you

How do I make a loan request?

1. Check our online electronic resources and the Library catalogue to make sure the item is not held by the OU Library
2. Go to the Library catalogue home page and select Document Delivery to take you to your home page
3. Select LOAN and complete the form with as much information as possible remember there are some mandatory fields
4. Submit the request and you will see a message "Your request has been submitted" which means the request has been sent to the British Library
5. Your request will now appear 'On Order' in the Item Requested list on your Document Delivery home page

How do I make an article request?

1. Check our online electronic resources and the Library catalogue to make sure the item is not held by the OU Library
2. Go to the Library catalogue home page and select Document Delivery to take you to your home page
3. Select either Photcopy (PC) or Electronic copy (SED) and complete the form with as much information as possible. Click to the next page
4. Choose your delivery option and click to the next page
5. You will now see a copyright declaration form for you to print out, sign and send to the Document Delivery Team.  We will not process requests until we received this form. Copyright law does not accept scanned signatures. Submit the request
6. Your request will now show in your Items requested list as "request awaiting copyright form" Once the form has been received your request will be sent to the British Library and will say "On Order"
7. You can print the copyright form from your Document Delivery home page                             Click on the printer icon next to the request

Electronic copy

• If you choose "electronic copy" the British Library will send the document directly to your Open University email address. This will contain the hyperlink(s) to your document(s). Click on the link while your computer is connected to the internet to download your document
• To open your document you will need to have access to FileOpen  on your computer
• When you choose electronic delivery you will need to check your Open University email frequently as you will have just 14 days to open the link sent by the British Library. If you cannot access your document within 14 days please contact the document delivery team
• Copyright information: You may print off one paper copy of the article, from which you may not make any further copies. You may not make any further copies or convert the file into any other format. You may not cut and paste or otherwise alter the text

Why do I need to fill in a copyright declaration?

• All document delivery copy services are subject to the relevant copyright restrictions in line with UK and EU law
• If you are requesting a PHOTOCOPY or ELECTRONIC COPY, check whether your request is considered commercial or non-commercial
• You must complete a copyright declaration form for each photocopy, or electronic copy request and send it to the document delivery team
   

How do I return/renew my document delivery loans?

• All document delivery items must be returned to us on time. If an item is not returned on time the British Library will charge £115 (+VAT). This charge will be passed directly to the Library user. Items returned by post must be sent by recorded delivery
• Renewals are subject to agreement with the lending library. To renew an item please contact the document delivery team by email ilmail@open.ac.uk or phone before the item is due for return
• If an item is recalled you will be asked to return the item by an earlier date

EThOS: an online service from the British Library

• The British Library has developed EThOS to enable easier access to British Doctoral Theses. This will allow open full text access to a range of British doctoral theses. If you are searching for a thesis, try searching EThOS first. If you are unable to find the thesis you are looking for, or need further help, please contact us

You can get help with document delivery by contacting the document delivery team : email ilmail@open.ac.uk or phone.