How to request an item
If you are unable to find what you are looking for when you visit the library or what you want is in another library then we can try and get hold of it for you.
The request service works in two ways:
In stock items
All stock for loan in Portsmouth City Council's libraries is available to be reserved whether it is on loan to someone else or on shelf at another library in Portsmouth. You can do this in one of three ways:
- pop into your local library and see a member of staff.
- place a reservation by telephone.
- place a reservation on the online catalogue if you have a PIN.
The reservation fee of 50p will be payable when you collect the item from your chosen library. Reservations for children under 16 are free.
Not in stock items
If a title is not on the catalogue at the time of request we can try to get the title in for you from outside Portsmouth. A copy may be purchased for Library stock or borrowed from another Library Service through the "Inter-Library Loan Scheme". (Please note that it can take longer to obtain items for not-in-stock requests because they are ordered from other Library Services or from Book Suppliers).
To place requests for not-in-stock items you can either visit your local library with as many details of the item as possible, or:
- via the online catalogue by using the 'Information and Requests' link if you have a PIN. For instructions on how to do this, please navigate to the 'Reserving not in stock items and journal articles' document at the bottom of the page.
- place a request by telephone.
Exclusions - we are unable to accept requests for not-in-stock recorded music, popular videos, Playstation games and CD-ROMs. You can make stock suggestions for items in these excluded categories. These are free at the time of request. You only pay a request fee if we purchase the title for addition to our stock.
The request fee of £1 will be payable when you collect the item from your chosen library. If we decide to purchase the item for stock, the fee will drop to 50p. Requests for children under 16 are free.
It may also be possible to obtain books from overseas locations.What 'not in stock' items can I request?
The following types of materials can be borrowed via the Inter-Library Loan Scheme:
- Non-fiction books
- Out of print fiction books
- Journal articles
- Conference proceedings
- UK Theses
Information needed for a request
The more information you can give when making a request, the better chance we will have of getting what you want.
We suggest the following as a useful guide:
- Author (there may be an editor instead)
- Title (include the subtitle if there is one)
- Publisher
- Year of publication
- ISBN
If you need a particular edition, include this information as well. Also, if you need an item urgently or before a particular date, please include this with your request.
To request an article from a journal you will need:
- Author of the article
- Title of the article
- Title of the journal
- Year of publication
- Volume and part number of the journal containing the article
- Page references so that the article can be found for you
These can be delivered direct to your email address if you have access to Adobe 6 or higher and a printer.
Associated documents:
Reserving not in stock items and journal articles (0.96 MB)