Interlibrary Loans

The interlibrary loan system uses your Employee or Student ID and Surname. Check your Interlibrary Loan Account to find out what you have submitted, and track your requests. Use your student or employee ID and Surname to check the status. 

• How do I place an interlibrary loan for a book? A journal article? A video or DVD?
• Can I request thesis or dissertations?
• Why is the form not accepting my ID? What is my Library ID and PIN?
• How long does it take to obtain material through interlibrary loan?
• How long can I keep material through interlibrary loan?
• How do I know if my interlibrary loan has been successfully submitted?
• How do I know when my interlibrary loan is ready to be picked up?
• Is there a limit to how many items I can borrow? 
• Can I renew items borrowed through interlibrary loan?
• How does the library handle ILL's that are overdue or not returned?
• Can I link to online articles for course packs or through my course web site?
• Who is eligible to place interlibrary loans?
• Information for institutions wishing to borrow materials from KPU Library.
• Copyright and Interlibrary Loan
• Interlibrary Loans contact information

How do I place an Interlibrary Loan for a BOOK?

You can request a non-KPU book by logging in at the Interlibrary Loan page and selecting book under Add Request.

How do I place an Interlibrary Loan for a JOURNAL ARTICLE?
First check the Journal Titles database to see if we own the journal—Search the Journal Titles database by the title of the journal in your citation and not by the title of the article.

This may lead you to a database that contains that particular article. Check the date of your article to see which link to follow if the journal is in more than one database. Follow the links to the issue required. Follow the Where Can I Get This link to find out the exact location (online, in print). If the journal shows up at KPU either in print or online, then either locate it on the shelves, download it directly if it is available online, or submit a request to have the item transferred by placing a hold on the item through the library catalogue.

If the item is not available at KPU, you will have the option to fill out an Interlibrary Loan form and submit it online while you are still in the research database.

You can request a non-KPU Periodical  Article by logging in at the Interlibrary Loan page and selecting article under Add Request.

How do I place an Interlibrary Loan for a VIDEO or DVD?
KPU participates in a provincial cooperative that facilitates the exchange of videos/DVDs among post-secondary institutions. If the video or dvd you want is not available at KPU, you can request it here.

Can I request thesis or dissertations through interlibrary loan?
You can and we will do our best to provide it. But note that many libraries do not loan such items. If costs of borrowing a dissertation is prohibitive, we will notify you.

Before you request a thesis through interlibrary loan, make sure you check the Thesis Canada Portal where you can download online Canadian thesis at no charge.

You can request a non-KPU thesis by logging in at the Interlibrary Loan page and selecting thesis under Add Request.

How long does it take to receive materials through interlibrary loan?
The length of time it takes to receive requested material varies from 1 day to 3 weeks, depending upon several factors:

• The accuracy of the bibliographical information supplied on the request form;
• The response of the lending library;
• The method of delivery.

The ILL staff attempt to obtain all material as quickly as possible. Items arriving from international locations may take longer than 3 weeks to arrive.

How long can I keep material received through interlibrary loan?
Loan periods depend on the providing library. You will be informed of your loan period when you pick up your item.

How do I know if my interlibrary loan has been successfully submitted?
When you submit an interlibrary loan request, you should get a web page that tells you it has been sent successfully. You will also receive an email at the address you used on the form that gives you a request number.

You can check your personal interlibrary loan account by logging in here. Use the same username and password that you use to submit your interlibrary loan requests. The information provided in your personal interlibrary loan account will verify which requests you have already submitted, and which you have already received.

How do I know when my interlibrary loan is ready to be picked up?
If you have ordered a print item, you will receive notification through email that your interlibrary loan is available for pick up at the Service Counter of whichever KPU Library that you designated in your request.

For electronic documents only, in most cases journal articles, you will receive notification through email that contains a link where you can access your article. This is a service called Post to Web. You have 7 days with a total of 3 tries to download or print the article after which the document is no longer available if either number is exhausted.

If you have problems with your interlibrary loan link, you can contact our ILL office at 604-599-2959 or by email: ill@kpu.ca. Please make sure to quote your request number when leaving a message.

This is a sample of what a Post to Web email would look like:

Is there a limit to how many items I can borrow through interlibrary loan? 
There are no limits in place at this time for students, faculty, or staff. However, if we notice you are requesting a large number of items, we may contact you.

Can I renew items that I have borrowed?
We will try to renew books for you once but it is up to the lending library whether this will be permitted. 

How does the library handle ILL's that are overdue or not returned?
Overdue ILL's or lost items are handled the same way as items in our own collection. We do three system wide searches; we then pass on any overdue or lost item charges from the lending library on to the student or employee. 

Can I link to online articles for course packs or through my course web site?
It depends on the database. You will need to check the permissions for the databases where the article is found. Simply search for the research database and look at the information page for full details.

Who is eligible for interlibrary loans?
Registered students, faculty and employees are eligible for the interlibrary loan service. Sorry, no interlibrary loans for alumni, retired faculty or community borrowers.

Copyright and Interlibrary Loan
KPU follows Canadian copyright law. We ensure that Interlibrary loan requests which exceed copyright limitations are cancelled. Under the terms the COPYRIGHT ACT R.S.C. c. C-42 as amended, we cannot order copies of more than 10% of a published work or one journal article per issue.

By submitting an interlibrary loan request through KPU, users agree to our copyright notice that appears on all interlibrary loans as follows:
This document is protected by Canadian copyright law. Material provided through Interlibrary Loan is provided solely for research or private study and any purpose under fair dealing.

More information on Copyright can be found at https://libguides.kpu.ca/copyright. You can also contact the KPU copyright team at copyright@kpu.ca.

The following information pertains to institutions and organizations borrowing material through our interlibrary loan department. We do not lend material directly to external individuals. If you wish to borrow an item from KPU, you should contact your library document delivery/ILL department to submit a request.

We use Relais as our interlibrary loans management system.

For sites with an ILL management system:

• For Relais or other systems that message using Generic Script, please configure your system settings to send requests to illgsm@kpu.ca
• For sites using ISO compliant systems that have tested with BSKC, please configure your system settings to send requests to illiso@kpu.ca. If your library uses an ISO compliant system but has not tested with BSKC, please contact Caroline at 604-599-3036.
• Please adjust your settings as soon as possible.

For sites without an ILL management system:

You can submit your requests using our INSTITUTIONAL REQUEST FORM. In order to use the form, you must:

• Have a Library and Archives Canada symbol. Search for your LAC codes at Library and Archives Canada; or
• A locally created symbol in our Relais system.
• You must enter your symbol in UPPER CASE in both fields —the system is case sensitive. You can contact BSKC directly for more information.

Our loan period is 6 weeks from date of receipt. Renewals are permitted as long as there is not a hold on the item. KPU does not loan graphic novels, reserve items, reference material, special collections material nor our music CD's through interlibrary loan. Please contact us at the information below should you have any questions about your request.

Phone: 604-599-2959
Fax: 604-599-2532
Email: ill@kpu.ca

Who is Eligible?

Students and employees from institutions within B.C. and across Canada may obtain a free Community Borrower card from the KPU library.  Procedures are here.  KPU students, employees and retired employees may obtain a Community Borrower/Extramural Library Card from other institutions.

Reciprocal Borrowing Agreements

KPU participates in two reciprocal borrowing agreements for patrons:

• CPSLD Reciprocal Borrowing Agreements for B.C. Institutions. Check the website for participants: https://cpsld.ca/reciprocal-borrowing/
• COPPUL, through the Canadian University Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement (CURBA) for Canadian Institutions. Check the website for participates: http://curba.ca/ of which COPPUL is a member.

How to Obtain a Reciprocal Borrowing Card from a Participating Institution

A COPPUL or CPSLD card is required to obtain a borrowing card with the participating libraries. COPPUL and CPSLD cards are valid for 1 year for employees and for students they are valid for as long as your KPU card is valid.

• Come to any campus library Service Counter, present your KPU Card or Lifetime Borrower card and ask for a COPPUL and CPSLD card.
• Present your COPPUL and CPSLD card at the participating institution and ask for a Community Borrower/Extramural card.
• Have your KPU Card and another piece of government issued photo identification with you.

What to Expect at Other Institutions

Borrowing privileges depend on the policies of the institution.

• Generally, only books may be borrowed.
• Remote access to the institution's research databases, ebooks and ejournals are typically not permitted do to licensing with database vendors.