Processing requests

Details on the principles, copyright details, data protection and searching for the inter-lending and document supply (ILDS).

Here is a quick checklist to help with processing inter-library loan and document supply (ILDS) requests.

Check the reference is complete

You may find some requests take the form of a link to the online version of the journal. Click on the link to find the details. If the link isn’t working, ask for a complete reference.​

Other requests may be submitted verbally, hand written or by email. In these cases it can be important to check the reference using a tool such as PubMed Single Citation Matcher or Google Scholar.

Find the full text of the article ​

We recommend the following order when searching for texts. Your local services may recommend other alternatives.

• Check your library holdings, NHS Core Content, locally/regionally purchased online subscriptions.
• Check your regional ILDS network.
• National Union List of Journals (NULJ) or Psychiatric Libraries Cooperative Scheme (PLCS) (if your library is a member).
• Other regional ILDS networks following the inter-network collaboration (INC) scheme rota.
• Failing the above you can send your request to [email protected]. You will need to join the Knowledge for Healthcare (KfH) mailing list before you can send to the noted email.
• The British Library (BL), and for Copyright Fee Paid (CFP) articles use a BL CFP account or reprints desk.

Send your request to another location ​

When submitting your request, make sure you include the following details:

• journal title, year, volume, (part), page number
• article title and author
• your postal address, phone number, and email address
• the name of your regional ILDS scheme and your library code, for example Eastern Document Exchange Network (EDEN) West Suffolk Hospital (WSH)

Abide by inter-library loan etiquette and guidelines

When submitting inter-library loans, there are guidelines we recommend following, which are listed below.

• Send no more than 3 requests to one location per day.
• Telephone in advance for exceptionally long articles. You can find library contact details on Health Library and Information Services Directory (HLISD).
• Always acknowledge receipt of an article once you have checked it.
• Read the inter-library loan and document supply (ILDS) good practice guidelines.