Postal loans service
- About the AddLibS postal loans service
- How to request a postal loan
- Returning postal loans
- Sending inter-library loans by post
- Does the library have your correct address?
About the AddLibS postal loans service
If you are unable to get to the Library to borrow the items you need, you can ask us to post them to your home or work address. A maximum of five requests may be submitted at any one time, and once we have received your requests we aim to post items within five working days, although it is usually much quicker than this. Outward postage is free, but please note that you will need to pay the cost of return postage unless you are able to bring the items back in person by the due date.
The postal loans service applies to items available for seven day loan or standard loan. If you need an item which is confined or which is only available for a three day loan period or less, please contact us to discuss alternative ways in which we might be able to help. We do not post out copies of books which are also available electronically, unless the student is willing to meet the cost of postage. We also do not post items abroad as they remain subject to recall by other users, but if an item is absolutely essential to your studies you can contact us to see if an exception can be made.
How to request a postal loan
You should first check the Library Catalogue to make sure that we have a print copy of the item you require and that it is available for loan (i.e. that it is not a confined item). It is also a good idea to check if the item is available electronically by searching the eJournals Catalogue and eBook resources in Metalib, as it may be freely available online. If we do not stock the item you need either in print or online you can order it via the Inter-library loans service. (It may still be possible to send the item to you - see the sending Inter-library loans by post section below).
If we have the item you require in stock you can order it to be sent to you via our online Postal Loans Form. Please ensure that you supply full bibliographic details of the item required, as well as all your personal details including your address, as failure to do so may delay your request. Once we receive your form we aim to fulfil all requests within five working days, but it usually takes less time than this and we will contact you to confirm via your University of Bristol email address when we have posted your item. When posting items, we use the Royal Mail’s Recorded Signed-For service. Outward postage within the UK is free of charge (but you will need to pay for return postage if you cannot return items to the library in person by the due date). A signature is required on delivery, so you may prefer to have items delivered to your work address (please make sure you specify the address when making your request).
Returning postal loans
The AddLibS Postal Loans Service is free of charge within the UK. However, please note that you will need to pay the cost of return postage if you are unable to return items to the library in person by the due date.
When returning items through the post you should use strong protective packaging such as a jiffy-bag or bubble-pack and brown paper with parcel tape. Please remember to put your own (sender's) address on the back of each parcel.
Once an item has been delivered to you, it is your responsibility to ensure that it is returned to the library in a similar condition by the due date. If items are lost you will be invoiced for their replacement value, so please ensure you have the necessary proof of postage in case you need to chase items with the Royal Mail or other service provider.
Sending inter-library loans by post
It may be possible to post items ordered from our Inter-library loans department, although this is subject to restrictions by the lending library. Please specify when ordering inter library loans online (using the 'Notes' box) that you would like the item posted to your home or work address. As inter-library loan items are expensive to replace due to high administrative charges, we use the Royal Mail's Special Delivery Service for these items. Special Delivery provides insurance cover for more valuable items in the event that they are lost and a claim needs to be made.
Does the library have your correct address?
We always send postal loans to the address specified by you when making your request. However, you should also check that the library has up-to-date contact details for you, particularly if you have moved recently.
Note: some of the documents on this page are in PDF format. In order to view a PDF you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader