Interlibrary loans
Interlibrary service is a process of sharing resources between libraries. A private person cannot request material directly from another library in this process, but libraries request materials from each other. Interlibrary loans open the resources of the complete library network for you. If the material you need is not available in HelMet libraries or in the scientific or special libraries in the Metropolitan area, you can request it as an interlibrary loan from elsewhere.
You can request books, sound recordings, movies, sheet music and microfilms as interlibrary loans. Volumes of periodicals are usually not sent as interlibrary loans. Instead, photocopies of articles from the periodicals can be requested.
A book or other material belonging to the collections of some library in the Metropolitan area cannot be requested as an interlibrary loan, even if it is on loan at the moment. From these databases you can check if the volume you need exists in some of the libraries in the Metropolitan area:
HelMet Web Library
Linda Union Catalogue of Finnish University Libraries
You are able to request an interlibrary loan if you have a HelMet library card and your user rights are valid. You can make the request on the library’s home page or at the nearest library.
Interlibrary loan online form for patrons
The interlibrary loan department is situated at Pasila library. We send you the interlibrary loan or the photocopies to the library of your choice as far as possible. However, the service is bound to municipality and thus we cannot forward an interlibrary loan e.g. to Espoo library. You have to collect your loan from one of the libraries in Helsinki.
Interlibrary loans are always subject to the loan periods and other user rules set by the owning library. Some materials are not sent as interlibrary loans, and some are only to be used in the reading rooms of the receiving library. University dissertations often come as microfiches. The device you need to read is at your disposal in the following libraries:
Itäkeskus Library
Kannelmäki Library
Pasila Library, main library
Puistola Library
Rikhardinkatu Library
The material requested as an interlibrary loan usually arrives within a couple of weeks but you might have to wait for heavily requested materials for up to several months. Loans requested from abroad usually also take about 3-6 weeks.
Coursebooks are not easily accessible and most university libraries only lend them to their own students. Therefore, please mention at the bottom of the request form where you study.
So far it is not possible to see your interlibrary loans in Your record at HelMet web library and you cannot renew them as self-service. Please request for the renewals by email kaukopalvelu@hel.fi or by telephone 09-31085433 or 09-31085482.
Fees
An interlibrary loan from Finland or the Nordic countries costs 4 €. We also request interlibrary loans from elsewhere in Europe if necessary. Depending on the owning library, the cost varies between 14 and 25 € / loan. Photocopies are charged according to the price list of the sending library or 4 € per article at the minimum.
Interlibrary loan service contact information
09-31085433 (requests for interlibrary loans)
09-31085432 (sending material)
kaukopalvelu@hel.fi
Helsinki City Library
Interlibrary Loans
P.O. Box 4100
00099 City of Helsinki