Help

There are a couple of things you need to do before you can open your online orders from On Demand

When your British Library On Demand order is ready we will send you an email with a link to download the item you’ve ordered. Your order will be available for 30 days from the date you receive it.

In many cases, we have to encrypt the items we send, in order to comply with our agreements with publishers, so you’ll need to use our DRM Lite solution to open items from On Demand.

If the document you order from On Demand is encrypted, you will be able to read it for three years from the date you downloaded it. Just make sure you save file as soon as you open it. You are also allowed to print one copy of the document. 

All loans and mail orders are sent by first-class post or airmail.

DRM Lite

DRM Lite is an electronic delivery method that allows On Demand to supply secure, encrypted documents and ensures that the item is used only as permitted.

The document is locked to a user rather than a machine, meaning it can be viewed on any computer or mobile device. Users are required to be registered for On Demand to enable them to open documents. 

For solutions to common problems, download our DRM Lite Frequently Asked Questions.

Restrictions on what you can do with your order

All items sent electronically are subject to the following conditions:

• Only one paper copy can be made from the digital item from which you cannot make further copies.
• The digital item must not be stored once the single paper copy has been made.
• The digital item must not be resent except to allow the end user to print the single paper copy allowed above.
• The digital item must not be saved or printed before forwarding it to the end user.
• The digital item can only be forwarded in the format supplied by the British Library – they must not be manipulated in any way or converted to a different format.
• If the digital item is defective or is the wrong item it can be resent, but the original
  item must be deleted along with any associated files.

Unencrypted delivery

Unencrypted delivery is not available except under certain circumstances.

Some publishers allow us to provide documents as unencrypted PDFs. These are identified by the presence of the delivery option 'Unencrypted Download' on On Demand's 'Select delivery options' page. 

If your organisation holds a relevant licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency, On Demand can send your orders to you without DRM encryption. Check the terms of your CLA licence.