UK Libraries

The Inter-Library Loans Department welcomes requests from Libraries within the UK and Republic of Ireland.

We accept requests by e-mail, mail and telephone. Payment is made by British Library billing account so please remember to include in your request your account no. and a request/reference number.

Prices Quoted: 1st August 2023 - 31st July 2024

Speculative requests

We are happy to accept speculative requests. Not all our holdings are listed on our Online Catalogue. There are various printed catalogues still in use, e.g. pre-1978 supplementary material, Official Publications, pamphlets. There are also many books still waiting to be catalogued. Therefore, if you require a book not listed, please still apply as we may be able to help.

Lending Policy

We lend a considerable percentage of our holdings. However, we are unable to lend the following:

• Rare Books/Special Collection classes, although we may be able to provide a copy if the item is out of copyright and covers less than 100 pages 
• Books in reference classes
• Unsuitably bound items (spiral bound, ring-binder, loose-leaf, etc.)
• Digital materials (DVD-ROMs, CD-ROMs and Video/Audio cassettes)
• Manuscripts
• Special collections
• Newspapers

For all items that we can supply, Cambridge University Library offers a six week loan period from the date of dispatch, but all items are subject to recall if required by a Cambridge user. All loans are strictly "for use in library only", but in most cases copying is permitted if undertaken by a member of library staff and adheres to UK Copyright Law.

Cambridge Theses

Unfortunately, the Inter-Library Loans Department are unable to lend or copy from Cambridge Theses. However, individuals may be able to purchase a copy of a Cambridge Thesis by submitting a request for Imaging Services through the Digital Content Unit's online form. For more information about pricing, please visit the Library's  Digital Content Unit:  http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/departments/digital-content-unit

Copyright fee paid items

We are unable to accept requests for Copyright Fee Paid items.

Medical & Science Materials

A number of science and medical materials are held at specific libraries around Cambridge that do not fall under CA/U-1's authority. Materials that are listed in our catalogues as either Medical Library (CA/M-7) or Moore Library (CA/U-2) should be sent directly to them, as they run their own ILL service. The Moore Library also handles all requests for the Materials Science & Metallurgy Library.

Cambridge Backup Libraries

The Inter-Library Loans Department at Cambridge University Library (CA/U-1) also works in partnership with a number of other Departmental and Faculty Libraries across Cambridge. Requests for items held at these libraries should also be sent to CA/U-1. Below is a list of our partner libraries, and their permissions: