Library Resources -- Recommendations and Requests

Inter-Library Loan (ILL) is a service provided by NTU Library to source for and borrow physical books that are not available in the Library.

The Library may borrow the book from local institutions or overseas libraries. The loan period varies according to the lending institution. Generally, the loan period is about 2-3 weeks. Any extension of the due date is subject to the approval of the lending library. Like all other library items, you are responsible for any damage, loss, or overdue fines.

Who can request?

Faculty, staff, researchers, postgraduate and FYP students. But faculty, researchers, and students of NIE and RSIS should contact their respective libraries.

How do I submit an ILL request?

First, go to OneSearch and "Sign In". There are two ways to submit a request.

Option 1:

1. From the top navigation menu, locate the form "REQUEST FOR DOCDEL/ILL"
2. Fill in the form according to what you need, click "SEND REQUEST"
3. You will be asked to review the Terms of Use. When you agree, your request will be sent
4. Go to "My Account" to see your request with the status "Created borrowing request"

Option 2:

1. Find the article/book/item that you need. Under "Refine my results", select "Search beyond Library holdings" to find items that are not available from NTU Library. Such items will show "No Online Access"
2. Click on the title to go into the full record display
3. Under the section "How to get it", you will see the form "Request for ARTICLE/CHAPTER (Document Delivery) || Request for BOOK (Inter-Library Loan)". Click on the form and the system will auto-fill in the input fields based on what is available from the record.
4. Input the rest of the empty fields, review all the info, and click "SEND REQUEST".
5. You will be asked to review the Terms of Use. When you agree, your request will be sent.
6. Go to "My Account", to see your request with the status "Created borrowing request".

Help us by providing sufficient information under the mandatory input field "Reason for request". Below are some guiding questions for you to consider:

1. Which research project or course/assignment is this for?
2. How will this be used?
3. How important is this to you, and why so?
4. By when do you need this?
5. Have you looked at what the Library already has or considered alternatives?
6. Have you previewed the resource or examined the table of contents (e.g. from Google Books) to judge the relevance?

When can I get my document or book? How do I track the status of my request?

Turnaround time largely depends on:

• Whether there is sufficient information for us to review the request
• The number of sources available, the ease of borrowing from the sources, and the location of those sources
• The speed of our partners' responses
• The nature of the item, e.g. is it something rare or published in limited quantities? Does it require special processing or reproduction?
• The time required for shipping (for physical items)
• The number of active requests we have at any time

It may take up to 10 working days for you to get the item from local institutions.

For items that are rare, hard-to-find or with limited availability worldwide, it may take between 3 to 6 months, assuming that they can be obtained at a reasonable cost.

To track the status of your request, go to OneSearch and "Sign In". Under "My Account" > "Requests", you will see a list of the active requests that you submitted.

You will see one of the following statuses:

1. Created borrowing request
2. Locate in progress
3. Request sent to partner
4. Physically received by Library (for physical items)
5. Digitally received by Library (for digital items)

An email notification will be sent when the physical item is ready for you to pick up.

When a request has been completed, it will disappear from your account. Physical items that need to be returned will only be marked as completed when the Library receives the item returned.

You can have up to 12 active requests at any time. When you reach this limit, you will not be able to submit any additional request.

We accept partnerships with local libraries of government departments, statutory boards, tertiary institutions, and government-owned companies. If your library would like to set up ILL with us, please email and provide the following:

1. A brief introduction of your institution (e.g. privately or publicly funded, etc.)
2. Library set-up (e.g. name of the Chief Librarian, size of your Library collection and membership)
3. An indication of whether you are prepared to reciprocate similar services to our Library

All requests are subject to copyright considerations and approval of the Library. The following types of materials are also not available:

1. NTU theses and project reports
2. Periodicals and newspapers and microforms
3. Audio-Visual (AV) materials, e.g. DVDs
4. Reference books
5. Items found in the course reserves (RBR)
6. New materials that have been acquired for less than a year
7. Unique materials that would be difficult or impossible to replace, e.g. reports on governmental investigations

Submitting a request

Libraries must email the following details to acquisition@ntu.edu.sg:

1. Name of your institution/library
2. Bibliographic details of the item, e.g. Title, author, year of publication, volume/issue, call number, etc.

Terms of Borrowing

1. The loan period is 28 days for both local and overseas libraries.
2. Up to 10 items may be borrowed at any time.
3. Loans may be renewed up to 6 times.

Charges

1. There is no charge for loans to our reciprocal partners.
2. If delivery is required, delivery charges apply.
3. Based on cost of courier - 1 Full IFLA voucher: SGD$16; Half IFLA voucher: SGD$8.

Payment method

We accept IFLA vouchers or payment by bank draft in Singapore dollars made payable to Nanyang Technological University.