I can't find the material I'm looking for

If we do not have the material in our collections, you can make an interlibrary loan, order a copy of the article or make a purchase suggestion.

If the material you are looking for is not available with us, you can try searching in Libris, the Swedish national library database to make an interlibrary loan or see if it is available at a public library close to where you live, e.g. the libraries in Fyrstad. You are also welcome to submit a purchase suggestion.

Order interlibrary loans or suggest a purchase

If you are a student at another university, you can request an interlibrary loan by emailing the library.

How to make an interlibrary loan

In Libris you will find literature that is available at other libraries in Sweden. You can order via the form on this page or if you order interlibrary loans often, it is easy to get a borrower account in Libris. When you get the library account, fill in your Swedish personal identity number in the field "library card number". Borrower accounts in Libris will be discontinued in June 2026.

Who can borrow interlibrary loans?

As a student or staff, we can borrow books from other libraries for you. This also applies to you as a student at another higher education institution in Sweden. The interlibrary loan must be related to your studies or research conducted at the university.

If you are studying remotely, we first and foremost refer you to your local library.

Items that are not available for interlibrary loans

Books that are already available at the university library or at the city libraries in Trollhättan or Vänersborg.
Entire e-books cannot be interlibrary loaned, but we can order copies of individual chapters.
Reference literature and course literature at the lending library
Entire journal issues and degree projects.

Items that you cannot interlibrary loan, you can leave as a purchase suggestion.

When will I receive the book and how long can I keep it?

Interlibrary loans usually take 3-10 days to arrive. During holidays it may take longer. The loan period for interlibrary loans is determined by the lending library. When you pick up the book, information about the current loan period is attached.

Interlibrary loans must be picked up and returned at the University Library. This also applies to distance students. Some interlibrary loans may not be available to take home but must be read at the library. Lost or damaged interlibrary loans are compensated by the borrower.

You will receive a claim for your interlibrary loan book when the lending library wants it back. Return the loan, or ask for an extension of the loan period by emailing us. You will receive an answer to your request as soon as we have received a reply from the lending library.

Order a copy of an article or individual chapters

As a student or staff at University West, you can order copies of articles from other libraries free of charge. In our databases, it is possible to search for articles we do not have access to. Then you can order directly in the database by clicking on the link "Order via the library". You can also use the order form on this page.

You can order a maximum of 10 items in a week. Log in to your library account to see your order history from the last week.

Ordered items will be delivered by email within 7 business days to the email address associated with your account. In exceptional cases, we must send the items printed.

Purchase suggestions

The library purchases literature and other information resources to support the education, research and activities conducted at University West and NU healthcare. Our acquisition is primarily user-driven, and we continuously evaluate the collections based on use and relevance.

Anyone who has a valid library account can suggest books for purchase to the library.

Electronic formats are prioritized for acquisition as they provide the greatest accessibility.
All mandatory course literature is acquired, and we strive to have it available at the start of each course. Course literature that is not available as e-books are purchased in two copies, one of which can be read on-site at the library.
We actively purchase books for the NU library and the university library special collections related to norm-critique and sustainability.
We gratefully accept purchase suggestions. Each suggestion undergoes quality and relevance assessment.
Interlibrary loan requests from students and staff are considered purchase suggestions. The library decides whether the material will be borrowed from another library or purchased.
If a book is already in our collections, we do not purchase additional copies.
We gratefully accept book donations related to our subject areas but reserve the right to freely manage donated materials.

A purchase of a printed book takes between 1-3 weeks. You can get access to a purchased e-book in a few days.