Interlibrary loans

There will be limits on the number of interlibrary loans we can supply to you each academic year.

Seasonal delivery times

Please allow at least 10 working days for a book request and 5 working days for an article or eBook request, Please note, we cannot guarantee the processing and delivery of print book requests submitted after Wednesday 10th December 2025 and article/chapter requests submitted after Thursday 18th December 2025 as we are working with external partners with different closure time over Winter vacation. You can still collect your physical requests before Tuesday 23rd December. The service will resume as usual from Monday 5th January 2026.

Digital Requests:
Chapters from books or journal articles requested in digital format typically arrive within a few hours.

Physical Book Requests:
Please allow at least 10 working days for delivery of physical books.

Delivery Times:
While we aim to fulfil requests promptly, delivery times may vary as we rely on external partners.

Many interlibrary loan journal articles and book chapters are delivered electronically to you by email.

You will be notified by email when the item arrives. All items need to be collected and returned in person to Level 1 of the Library during staffed hours. Please do not return them using the self-service machines. Most items can be taken out of the Library, but the lending library may make the item reference only.

This will vary depending on where the book has been borrowed from. Loan periods can range from two weeks to two months. If you wish to renew an item, please email the library who will check with the lending library to see if it is possible. We require users to pay the British Library renewal charge.

Please take care of your interlibrary loans. If an item is not returned or is lost, you will be invoiced for the cost of a replacement. The British Library’s minimum replacement charge is over £200.

Many UK universities have made their doctoral theses available via their institutional repository. These can be identified by using EThOS, a British Library collection that includes theses from UK participating institutions. Some theses can be immediately downloaded, or you can order a scanned version which may incur a cost.

Theses from around the world are available via ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: Global (PQDTGlobal) and Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.

Go to the University of Surrey open research repository and select doctoral theses where you can search by keywords or browse by research unit. This collection includes theses from 1972 to date. Some theses are restricted due to their confidential nature.

Interlibrary loan staff are here to help you Monday to Friday during office hours. You can also search MySurrey Help for further information and advice.#

The Academic Skills and Development team (for taught students) and the Faculty Librarian team (for academic staff and Postgraduate research students) offer support with accessing open resources or locating alternative sources of information.