Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery
The Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery department will request books, articles, etc. from other libraries on behalf of UofA students, staff, and alumni, free of charge. We pay any associated fees* (e.g. shipping, copying charges, borrowing charges).
Request an Interlibrary Loan
Option 1: Use the Library Search or search any database. Items not held in our collections will provide a link to an Interlibrary Loan form that is automatically filled out.
Option 2: If you're unable to locate a citation in the Library Search, request the item using the form below by logging in and selecting your citation type (book or article). For article requests, you can enter a DOI or PMID and complete the form using the autofill button. Please complete as many fields as possible.
Interlibrary Loan Request form (login required)
Tracking your Interlibrary Loan Progress
Use My Account to view your request and the status of your request. We recommend that you keep your own record of your requests, as My Account will only display active requests and your request information will be removed once the request has been completed.
Print materials will generally be made available for pickup in the same manner as hold requests. Sometimes, libraries do not want their materials to leave the library premises and they will have to be viewed in a reading room. Please note any special instructions in our emails sent to you.
Digital copies will be made available through a download link in My Account. You will receive an email to notify you that it's available for download. The file can be viewed up to five times from the download link, but this link will expire after 30 days of your emailed notice.
Questions? Contact ill@ualberta.ca.
Digital Copy Requesting Service
U of A employees, students, and alumni may request a digital copy of a single book chapter or print journal article that is held in the U of A Library collection. To do so, you need to click on Digital Copy Request (Chapter/Article) in library search (please note: you have to log in AND be a U of A employee, student, or alumni to see this option).
- One chapter per book maximum!
- You may request up to ten digital copies from ten different items at a time.
- Turnaround time is not guaranteed, but we aim for 10 days.
Content will be reproduced and provided or communicated pursuant to the University of Alberta Fair Dealing Guidelines.
Questions? Contact ill@ualberta.ca.
*We reserve the right to apply a maximum cost we will pay for an interlibrary loan request and lost charges will be passed on to the borrower.