About 80% of our stock is in the Research Reserve in the Main Library. It is important to search on the FindIt@Bham catalogue so that you don't miss valuable reading material on your subject. Research Reserve items include theses, as well as older, less frequently used books and periodicals. These are only available to consult upon request.
Digital scans can also be requested and will be sent as long as requests follow copyright legislation.
If you find an item that shows it is in the Research Reserve, you can request it online.
Click on ‘Check for current availability at’ to see the request options. Research Reserve items have a 'Request' and a 'Digitisation' link. You will be able to request either a physical copy or a digital scan.
If you want the physical copy of the item, click ‘Request’.
Fill in any additional information and press ‘Request’.
If requesting a journal, please state the volume/s required in the relevant box. If you require multiple volumes/issues, please request these as part of one request.
To request a thesis, use the ‘Request’ option on FindIt. All theses are for reference use only, but many PhD theses are available online via EThOS.
School of Medicine theses must be consulted at the Barnes Library.
Due to the age and condition of material published before 1850, these items must be consulted in the Cadbury Research Library located in Muirhead Tower.
Available for University of Birmingham staff and students only.
If you have selected ‘Digitisation’, you will be prompted to give details of what you would like to be digitised. Not all Research Reserve items are available for digitisation.
As per copyright legislation, you are permitted to request a digital scan of:
Provide the relevant details and press ‘Request’.
Upon placing a request of either type, you will be told where you are in the request queue.
Requests are dealt with in order and speed of response will be dependent on the level of requests in the queue. Requests are processed at regular intervals, and are usually available in two to three working days (Monday-Friday). Please note that there is no fetching or scanning service on Bank Holidays or University Closed Days.
If you have made a physical request and the item is available, we will fetch it and notify you to collect from either:
You will have one week to collect your item. If you need longer, please contact us.
Loanable items should be issued to your account by using one of our self-issue machines. Thesis and other reference-only items can only be consulted within the Main Library.
Digital scans will be sent directly to the email address associated with your library account.
If you are the only user in the request queue, we aim to have the item or scan ready within two to three working days.