Library Assist: Answers

Print books requested from the British Library will usually be delivered to your preferred library within 7 working days. You will be notified with a message sent to your university email account when the book is ready to collect. 

Delays can occur when:-

The British Library does not have the item in their collection

Our main supplier of Inter-Library Loans is the British Library. They have a comprehensive collection but don't hold a print copy of everything ever published.

If the British Library advises us they do not hold the book in their collection we will look for another Library in the UK to loan it from.  It is impossible to say exactly how long this process will take because every library is different and it may take up to 14 working days, especially if we have to contact more than one Library.

You can see open requests in your online My Library account.  If the request is still visible it usually means we are in the process of sourcing it for you. If the request is no longer visible, it should have either have been supplied or the request has been cancelled. Please check your University Outlook emails (not your mailbox in Canvas) regularly for any messages and updates. 

If you have been waiting a few weeks for a request, please contact the team by emailing ILL@wlv.ac.uk

What happens if my request cannot be fulfilled?

We cannot guarantee to fulfil requests for all book titles and we will notify you of this is the case by sending a cancellation email to your University Outlook account. Please check your University Outlook emails (not your mailbox in Canvas) regularly for any messages and updates.