Important Note:
Owing to the latest development of the COVID-19 epidemic situation in Hong Kong and disruption in overseas shipments, the expected arrival time for ILL items will be delayed significantly.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
This service allows you to request books, book chapters, journal articles and other reading resources from local and overseas partner institutes.
- Login for Interlibrary Loan (HKU Users)
- Login for Interlibrary Loan (Borrowers from other institutions)
Need help on using the Interlibrary Loan service?
- Quick guide to request Interlibrary materials via ILLIAD
- Copyright for Interlibrary loans & document delivery
Types of materials can be requested via ILL:
- Loans of books and scores
- Photocopies of journal articles
- Photocopies of book chapters
- Theses which can be circulated in the library
Eligible Users:
All eligible users will be given an assigned quota per academic year. If the number of requested items exceeds this quota, a cost recovery basis charge will be applied. The following table gives details:
| User Type | Quota |
|---|---|
| Terms of Service I / Band G or above staff | 40 |
| Research Staff, Research Assistants and Demonstrators | 40 |
| Honorary Staff | 40 |
| Postgraduate students | 40 |
| Undergraduate students | 25 |
| SPACE Academics | 40 |
| SPACE higher degree students (local resources only) | 40 |
Expected time for the items to arrive at the library:
- Materials from local institutes: 1 week
- Materials from overseas institutes: 2 - 3 week
** Ninety percent of the resources arrive at the library within the time-frame mentioned above. The rest of them depend on the availability of the resources and the workload of the lenders.
Overseas Book Loan Initiative:
The University Libraries will check the availability of all book requests submitted via Interlibrary Loan. If the book is not available for loan, the Libraries would consider purchasing a copy of the requested book.
Off Campus Article Delivery
Terms of Service I / Band G or above (TOSI) staff from the main campus can send online requests via the Interlibrary Loan Request Form to obtain photocopies of journal articles held in medical and dental and vice versa for medical and dental TOSI staff for journals held in the main library.
Eligible Users:
Terms of Service I / Band G or above staff (excluding Research Assistants and Demonstrators).