Interlibrary Loan

General information on Interlibary Loan

If books or periodicals are not available from the collection at Maastricht University Library (visit our catalogue and e-journals homepage), they may be requested from a different Dutch library by means of the interlibrary loan service (ILL). The requested literature should be study and/or research related.

On this website, via the eLibrary > 'Catalogues', you can search the PiCarta database (Dutch Union Catalogue NCC and Online Contents OLC). You can request the book or article you need at another library via your ILL account.

UM card and ILL price

The book you requested is sent to the library, the article you require will be sent to you. To make use of ILL you will require a UM card (which is also your library pass). ILL’s cost price is €6.50 per request and is regulated nationally. The price you pay when you request an ILL varies. You can read more about this in the menu on the left.

Should a title be unavailable in the Netherlands, a special application may be made for a request to a library abroad. 

Electronic supply of periodicals via e-mail 

In addition to the usual paper copy, it is possible to supply an electronic copy. A number of university libraries offer the service of forwarding articles from periodicals to the e-mail address of the applicant by electronic mail. In order to guarantee receipt of the literature you requested via e-mail, we recommend that you use your maastrichtuniversity account and not a personal e-mail address, for a 1-page request easily amounts to 100 kb.

Your ILL account allows you to apply for literature from the Pica databanks, PiCarta. If your request is made by scan option at one of the libraries, you will receive the electronic copy (PDF) in your mailbox. In the menu on the left you will find information on:

• ILL for UM employees
• ILL for UM students
• ILL for UM alumni
• ILL for external clients