Request An Item From The Collection

Photo of a stack of books with some loose pages flying off into the sky

The library’s requesting service is available to University of Adelaide students and staff, alumni and community borrowers.

Students with a disability may be eligible to requests items at all locations. Please contact Ask Library for further information.

  • Requests can be placed when the item is located at a different campus to your pickup location, including Joint Store (our offsite storage facility), or when an item is on loan to another patron.
  • High Use items cannot be requested.
  • Staff and Postgraduate students can also request items not held within the University Library collections via our Interlibrary Loans Service.

Examples:

  • If an item is available on the shelf at the Barr Smith Library and you want to collect it from the North Terrace campus (either Law or Barr Smith Library) you will need to collect the item yourself.
  • If a book is available on the shelf at the Waite Campus Library and you want to collect it from the Barr Smith Library you can request the item.
  • If a book is available at Joint Store and you want to collect the item from the Law Library the item can be requested.

We will notify you when your item is available for collection. You can also check the status of your requests at any time by logging into MyLibrary.

How to make a request

To request an item from one of our collections, find the title in Library Search and click on the item. Sign In and select the Request option.

  • Students eligible for the remote student service should select Personal Delivery as the pickup location. Your item will then be posted to you.

How long will it take for my request to be ready?

  • If the item is on the shelf, it will take up to 48 hours to deliver to your selected campus.
  • If the item is located at Joint Store (the Library’s offsite storage) delivery may take up to 72 hours.
  • If the item is on loan, the item will be recalled and the current borrower will have their due date reduced to 1 week.

Once your request is available you will be notified via SMS and email. It will be available for collection from your selected requests pick up shelf and held there for seven days.