Centre for Health and Life Sciences (CHLS): When a Resource Is Not Available From The Library

As a researcher you will find that there will be times when the journal article or book that you need to consult is not available from the library's collections. In this scenario there are a number of options available to you to try and get hold of the materials you need:

• Use the library's Document Supply Service.
• Install Unpayall to see if the article is available Open Access.
• Take advantage of the SCONUL Access scheme.

More information about each of these options is available below.

When a journal article or book that you need is unavailable from the library's collections, the library's Document Supply Service can obtain the material for you. This service is free of charge for all researchers, and many articles can be emailed to you within the day. Simply fill out a Document Supply Request Form. For more information about Document Supply, follow the link below.

Unpaywall is an open database tool that can connect researchers to over 20 million open access scholarly articles. By installing the Unpaywall browser extension (which operates in either Chrome or Firefox), Unpaywall will indicate whether a research article is available open access elsewhere on the internet. Perfect if you find a scholarly article on a publisher platform that the university doesn't have subscribed access to.

Access Unpaywall to download the browser extension.

Top Tip: Turning on the 'OA Nerd Mode' in Settings is a great way to tell what form of open access the article is available in. If the padlock on the right-hand side of the page is:

Gold - this means that the article is available fully open access on a publisher platform.

Green - this means that the article is available open access from a preprint server or institutional repository.

The SCONUL access scheme is a great way of allowing researchers to use other university libraries for borrowing or reference purposes. Ideal if you need to consult print material available in another library's collection but not our own. More information on participating institutions and guidance on how to register for the scheme is available via the link below.