Interlibrary loans: Interlibrary Loan service (ILL)

No single library has the capacity to own or subscribe to all the print and electronic publications or databases available.

The Interlibrary Loan service is available free of charge to staff and registered M and D students of Unisa.

Use the Interlibrary Loan guidelines below to request an item that is not available in the Collection of the Unisa Library.

When the requested  item arrives from the supplying institution, it is available on the Article Exchange website.

You will receive an email from the Interlibrary Loans Department (notices@e.worldcat.org) to notify you of the arrival of the requested item, and you will be provided with a password and short URL with which to retrieve the document. The message will look something like this:

Your next step is to click on the URL in the email, type in the password and click on Get my file. We recommend that you print out the document immediately.

Article Exchange is a secure website where requested items are temporarily stored for users to access and print out.

It is very important to take note of the following :

• A file can be picked up a maximum of five times for each URL/ password combination
• After the file has been viewed 5 times, it will be removed
• Files not retrieved remain available for 30 days
• Files that are not picked up at all will beremoved after 30 days
• If files are not retrieved within 30 days, the article(s) will have to be requested again.
• It is therefore essential to print the article or book extract on the first view.

Keep in mind that it is the policy of some local and international host libraries not to permit renewals for books borrowed on interlibrary loan, and that for this reason requests for renewal may sometimes be declined. We recommend that you make prompt use of any books borrowed from other libraries.

Send your request for renewal and all ILL related queries to the Interlibrary Loans mailbox at: libr-ill@unisa.ac.za, and include your name, staff or student number, contact details and the details of the book(s) you wish to renew.

When the Interlibrary Loans section notifies you of the renewal, write the new due date on the issue slip in the front of the book..