InterLibrary Loan

Elsevier actively seeks to identify and address access gaps. We support and engage partners such as libraries and document delivery services to provide additional ways to access content.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

Describes the process by which a user of one library receives published material owned by another library in the same country, either as a copy or in the original format, for non-commercial purposes. ILL is sometimes a matter of local national copyright laws, but is not always expressly defined in local laws. It is understood generally that not every academic library can subscribe to every journal, and ILL is intended to help address academic library user access to content that is not considered “core” to their particular library (and not as a “substitute” for purchase or subscription).

Our policy

  • Elsevier’s aims to implement our interlibrary loan (ILL) policy in a fair and globally consistent way for publicly funded academic institutions.
  • We do this through a standard ILL clause that is included in all academic ScienceDirect subscription agreements which permits delivery of journal articles and book chapters to other academic libraries in the same country for the use by the receiving library’s user.
  • In some cases we will reference or align with local ILL guidelines or codes of practice.
  • In line with STM’s recommendation, Elsevier also permits ILL deliveries by regular subscriber academic libraries to libraries in the ‘least developed country’ category of Research4Life institutions.

Document delivery service

Elsevier also provides additional options for researchers to access documents outside of their existing subscriptions through our document delivery service partners. One benefit of document delivery arrangements is that it provides for copies of articles across borders Elsevier has commercial document delivery arrangements with entities such as Subito in Germany, CNRS in France and Copyright Clearance Centre (CCC) and Reprints Desk in the US.

Frequently asked questions

How can I gain access to content outside of my institution’s existing subscription and licenses?

How can libraries make use of Elsevier’s ILL policy and what titles does the policy cover?

Can libraries loan copies of book chapters and articles to libraries oversees?

Do libraries have to print a copy of what they are loaning before they are able to loan it?

Is there a limit of how much libraries can lend or receive?

Are there any prohibitions on ILL software that can be used to process ILL requests?

Isn’t there an ILL copyright exception?