International interlibrary loan for users of Heidelberg University Library
Information
Titles published abroad which are not held in German libraries can be obtained from foreign libraries under certain conditions. If you have ordered such a title via the online interlibrary loan service, you may receive a reference to the international interlibrary loan and the associated costs.
You undertake to pay the costs charged by the international supplier library (see overview of fees) by indicating an appropriate amount in the online interlibrary loan form or by e-mail. The fees vary greatly and can be very high. In addition, you should expect waiting times. We will, of course, try to select the cheapest and fastest delivery library for you. You can avoid queries by indicating a sufficient amount of money and a completion period of at least four weeks when placing your online interlibrary loan order. Items that we receive via international interlibrary loan can only be consulted in the reading room. Out-of-house lending is not possible.
If the order cannot be completed positively, there will be no additional costs for you. Please note that it may sometimes be cheaper and faster to purchase the title from national/international bookshops.
Fees for international interlibrary loan
Unfortunately, there are no uniform fee schedules for orders in international interlibrary loan. The costs vary depending on the supplier library and country. They consist of postage, possibly packaging, handling fee, bank charges, airmail, registered mail, value insurance and copying costs.
Please note that the following list is only a guide and that the fees charged by individual libraries may be considerably higher or lower.
Overview of fees for international interlibrary loan
Table
Europe | 20–30 Euro | Starting from 4 Euro |
Overseas | 50-65 Euro | Starting from 8 Euro |