Postal Loans Service

What is the Postal Loans Service?

This service is provided from the JB Morrell Library to help students on specified courses which are taken by distance learning, or on which irregular attendance at the University campus may make it difficult to visit the Library. We will post out books (to UK & Eire only) and photocopies and provide help with return dates and renewals and with items not held by the Library.

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Which courses are included in the Service?

Students on the following courses can use the Postal Loans Service. Most of these courses will pay for posting books and photocopies from the Library to you up to a limit decided by the department. Your course leader will let you know how many items you can request free of charge, or whether you need to pay. See postal loan charges.

  • Computer Science
    • MSc on Safety Critical Systems Engineering (SCSE)
    • MSc on Gas Turbine Control (GTC)
  • Economics
    • Certificate/Diploma in Health Economics for Health Care Professionals
  • Education
    • MA in Teaching English to Young Learners
  • Health Sciences
    • CHD Prevention Online
  • History
    • Certificate in Railway Studies
    • Certificate in Transport History
  • Social Policy and Social Work
    • Diploma/MA in Non-directive Play Therapy
    • MA in Public Policy Management
    • Masters of Public Administration
    • Masters in Public Management and Government

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Postal loans charges

If your Department does not cover the cost of postal loans, the charges the Library will apply are listed below. The charges will be added to your My Library Account when an item is posted out to you.

  • £3.00 for posting books and photocopies in the UK & Eire
  • £4.00 for posting photocopies overseas
  • £4.25 for fax in the UK & Eire
  • £5.00 for fax overseas

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Photocopies from journals and books

If what you want is not available through the Electronic Library you can apply for a postal loan/photocopy.

We will post to you articles from journals, papers from conference proceedings, and chapters from books held at the JB Morrell and King's Manor Libraries.

If we do not have a copy of an article, from a journal or a chapter from a book, you can use the Interlending option on the Library Catalogue to order a photocopy or an electronic version (SED) through the Interlending and Document Supply (ILDS) service. The photocopy will be posted to you. There is a charge for interlending which will be added to your Library account.

The Copyright Act 1988 stipulates that only one article from an issue of a journal, or one chapter or 5% from a book, may be photocopied for personal use. For more information about copyright see the Library's Copyright guidance notes.

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Books held by the JB Morrell and King's Manor Libraries

For books from the JB Morrell and King's Manor Libraries you can apply for a postal loan.

You can have up to 5 ordinary or 1-week loan books on loan via the Postal Loans Service at any one time. We will issue 1-week loan books to you for 2 weeks to allow time for posting them to you and for you to return them to us.

If the item is on loan, we will request it for you and send it to you as soon as it is returned to us. You can give us a date on the form after which the item will no longer be useful to you. If we can't supply the item before this date we will cancel the request and let you know that we've done this by email/letter.

Remember:

  • Items borrowed in this way count towards your normal loan allocation: please make sure you haven't reached your loan limit before submitting a Postal Loan Request. You can check in My Library Account on the Library Catalogue
  • You can't apply for Key Texts
  • Only request books through the Library Catalogue if you know that you will be able to collect them yourself from the Library
  • We do not post books overseas except to Eire

Returning books

When we send you a book we will let you know the date by which you should return it to us. Make sure you post the book back so that it will arrive before the return date. You are responsible for the book until it is returned so we recommend that you use recorded delivery or get a certificate of posting. Remember, we charge fines for overdue books so if you have a problem with returns please e-mail infodir-distance@lists.york.ac.uk or ring +44(0) 01904 323873 as soon as possible.

Books requested from you

All books borrowed from the Library can be requested by someone else, and the return date may then be changed to an earlier date. You will be informed of this by e-mail - normally your University e-mail address, unless you have given us a different one. Please post books back promptly as someone else will be waiting to use them. Please contact us (see Returning books) if you have a problem returning books on time. We should be able to extend the loan for a few days.

Renewing book loans

You can renew books borrowed from the JB Morrell and King's Manor Libraries through My Library Account

As a distance learner you can also e-mail infodir-distance@lists.york.ac.uk or telephone Lending Services on +44(0) 01904 323873 during office hours (09:00 - 21:00 Monday - Friday, 10:00 - 18:00 on Saturdays) before the return date.

If you telephone us for renewals please give your Library number and the book barcodes and titles so that we can check that the correct books are renewed.

If any of the books have been requested by someone else, we can't renew them and you must post them back to us as soon as possible.

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Applying for postal loans/photocopies

  • Complete an online Postal Loan Request form
  • Make sure you provide full details of the item you need
  • Tick the Copyright Declaration
  • Printed forms are available if preferred - e-mail infodir-distance@lists.york.ac.uk
  • Completed printed forms can be returned by post or fax:
    • By post to Lending Services (Postal Loans), JB Morrell Library, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD
    • By fax to: +44(0) 01904 323866

It is not possible to apply for items by telephone or email due to copyright restrictions.