Borrowing Books & Journals and Options for Document Supply

Members of the RSC can access a wealth of full text information remotely via the Virtual Library. If you find that full text is not available, there are various other options to obtain material.

Book & Journal Loans

RSC members can borrow items from both the books and journals catalogues:

• Members may borrow up to 10 items for a period of 8 weeks
• Loans are not renewable over the phone or by e-mail but a member may check the same item out again in person
• Loans can be requested by email
• Items can be sent by post (the RSC pays the postage to the borrower)
• Valuable or heavy items will be sent by Recorded Delivery, costs will be agreed before the loan is posted
• The borrower is responsible for the return of any items (including postage fees)
• The borrower is responsible for looking after the loan/s, i.e. if any item is damaged or lost en route or whilst in their possession, the borrower will be invoiced for the cost of replacing them
• Members who retain overdue items from the Library will be invoiced for their replacement and will have their right to use the Library withdrawn until the items are returned or paid for. 
• Members can have a Library Catalogue Account to view their loan history, please contact the library to set this up
• This service is available to RSC Members within the European Union.  Members outside the EU should contact the library to discuss possible alternative arrangements.    

British Library Loans

If an item is not held in the RSC Library but is in the British Library (within the Chemical Sciences), the Library may borrow items from them on behalf of RSC Members.

• £15.00 per 2-week loan
• The RSC pays the postage to the borrower
• The borrower is responsible for the return of any items (including postage fees)  
• The borrower is responsible for looking after the loan/s, i.e. if any item is damaged or lost en route or whilst in their possession, the borrower will be invoiced for the cost of replacing them
• Valuable or heavy items will be sent by Recorded Delivery, costs will be agreed before the loan is posted  
• This service is available to RSC Members in the UK only    

Obtaining Full Text Articles

Full text articles that are not available through our Virtual Library can be ordered directly from the British Library or from any other document delivery company such as CISTI, Reprints Desk and IngentaConnect.