Interlibrary Loans
If certain books, articles, chapters or dissertations that you need for your research are not in our collection, we may be able to get them for you from another library at no cost to you. Interlibrary Loans (ILLs) are available for current VIU students and employees, and can be requested through our Library Search (select 'Add results beyond your library's collection' in your search) or through our request form:
Limitations
Due to licensing and copyright restrictions, full electronic copies of books are not often available through interlibrary loan. Under fair dealing, Individual ebook chapters and journal articles can still be requested. Digital items take 2 to 3 days and physical items take 1 to 2 weeks to become available after requesting. These times are estimates. Items may arrive sooner or later depending on where they are shipped from.
Loan periods
ILLs follow different loan periods than items in the VIU collection. They tend to be made available for 6 to 10 weeks. ILLs do not renew automatically. To request a renewal, email ill@viu.ca.
Overdue ILLs
Library borrowing and online access privileges may be suspended when interlibrary loans become overdue. Borrowers are expected to pay the replacement cost of lost or damaged items. If overdue items are returned, replacement costs may be waived, and borrowing and online access privileges may be restored.
Does VIU Library have what I'm looking for?
Type the title of the book or article into the search box below with quotation marks around it. If we have it, it will appear in the results. Example: "The Teachings of Mutton"
ILL policies for other libraries
Placing requests
Please place your requests through Worldshare or Illume. If you do not have access to these systems, please use our external ILL request form. Please contact us if you have any questions or experience problems.
Returnable loan periods
For post-secondary libraries, 10 weeks from the date of receipt by the borrowing library per the 2025 COPPUL / OCUL / CAUL-CBUA / BCI Resource Sharing Agreement. For all other libraries, 8 weeks from the shipment date.
Renewals
Renewal requests are considered on a case-by-case basis. One 6-week renewal may be permitted, depending on circumstances, per the 2025 COPPUL / OCUL / CAUL-CBUA / BCI Resource Sharing Agreement.
Non-returnable articles and copies
PDF copies of journal articles and book chapters, from print and electronic sources, are provided if allowable under relevant license terms and fair dealing analyses. Non-returnables are delivered via secure document delivery (Illume or Article Exchange).
Not available for ILL
- Course Reserves materials
- Materials in the "VIU Reads" collection
- Oversized and multimedia materials are considered on a case-by-case basis.
- Special Collections materials are non-circulating and generally not available for ILL; however, exceptions for loans to other post-secondary libraries with appropriate Special Collections facilities and processes may be considered on a case-by-case basis, and fulfilled under specific conditions identified for each case.
Shipping address
VIU Library Interlibrary Loans, 900 Fifth Street, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9R 5S5
OCLC library code
CN8ML
LAC code
BNM
Consortium memberships
COPPUL (full member); CRKN; BC ELN
Non-returnable copy charges, renewals, and late fees
No charges, per the 2025 COPPUL / OCUL / CAUL-CBUA / BCI Resource Sharing Agreement.
Replacement charges
Replacement cost plus $25 processing fee.
Invoice payments
Invoicing and payments go through VIU's Accounts Receivable department (payment and contact information to be provided with invoice.)