Interlibrary Loan Service to find materials beyond the PolyU Collections

We strive to deliver materials to you as soon as practicable. The estimated waiting time for your requests will usually be within the following timeframe:

Digital Articles / Book Chapters from partner libraries	2 - 3  working days
Physical Books from local UGC-funded university libraries	3 - 4 working days
Digital Articles / Book Chapters from other non-local sources	7 - 14 days
Physical Books from overseas libraries	4 - 8 weeks

Occasionally, there will be extenuating circumstances where the Library could not deliver the requested material within the specified timeframe. This could be due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, a rare item that is very hard to source, lost in postage, supplier delivered the incorrect/incomplete/damaged item, and so on. 

• You will be notified by email once the article or book chapter requested is ready for downloading or the book you requested is ready for pick up.
• In case your request cannot be fulfilled, the Library will also notify you as soon as possible.   Please check your emails regularly. 
• You may also track the progress of your requests by logging into MyRecord.
  

Common reasons for cancellation of requests:

• The item is in the PolyU Library collections (in physical or electronic format, on shelf or on loan) 
• The item cannot be located from other libraries or sources.
• The item is checked out at the lending library or not found on the shelf.
• The item is in a non-loanable format (e-books, AV materials, computer software etc.).
• The item is not for loan or with short loan period (e.g. reserve collection, special collections, reference books, entire issue or volume of a journal, standards, theses or dissertations).
• The item is available for open access or acessible from local public libraries.
• The item will be purchased by the Library for inclusion into its collection.
• The item is not for sale to Library. 
• Licensing terms or embargo period imposed by publishers disallow the sharing of the item.  
• Copying of more than one chapter or over 10% of a book is not allowed due to copyright restrictions.
• Cost to provide access to the item and shipping cost exceeds the subsidy ceiling of Library's Interlibrary Loan service.
• Borrowing privileges of the user is temporarily suspended due to unpaid fines or bills.

Yes, if the book loaned is not returned by the due date, an overdue fine calculable immediately from the day following the due date will be charged.  Overdue fines are charged at the same rate as fines for PolyU books (Currently HK$2 per calendar day).  Failure of payment may result in penalties and suspension of library privileges as stipulated in Library Regulation 5.8 - 5.10.  Please refer to this page to see if you can renew your loans before the due date. 

After receiving Library’s email notification, please pick up the book requested within 5 days from the Self-pickup Station in the Reserve & Audio Visual Collections on P/F of the Library.  Items not picked up after 5 days will be returned to the lending library.

After receiving Library’s email notification, please follow the instruction to log into MyRecord to download the item within 30 days for a maximum of 5 times.  After 30 days, the item will be automatically deleted.

The Library does not have the rights to access and check the completeness of an item delivered electronically from the lending library to your MyRecord account.  For any missing pages, please contact us at 2766-6864 or email us at lbilloan@polyu.edu.hk. 

No, due to copyright restrictions and licensing terms, a complete e-book cannot be requested via interlibrary loan. You might try to submit a request to borrow a physical copy, or access a selected chapter from the book.

The borrower is responsible to take good care of physical books loaned.  In case of loss or damage, please call us at 2766-6864 or email us at lbilloan@polyu.edu.hk. 

The borrower is liable for replacement cost, penalty fines and processing fees as determined by the lending library.