On Demand

Impact of Covid-19 - Update 27 July 2020

We are delighted to let you know that we are now able to open up access to more content to all our customers through British Library On Demand.

Over the past few weeks our staff who could not work from home have gradually returned to our sites, thus allowing us to significantly re-open the majority of our On Demand Services. This has required us to update our workflows and processes in order to maintain staff safety and well-being. You can now receive almost all the full range of content via On Demand apart from collections held in London. We are not in a position to resume our loan service just yet, but we are able to accept returns of loans - automatic renewal fees remain suspended.

These necessary changes will, in the short term impact our service delivery times which will be slower than usual. We will endeavour to provide the requested item within 5 working days. If you need Covid-19 related research content or you need an item urgently, you can order through our two hour delivery service. Please note that you will not receive the requested content within the two hour time frame, but this allows us to prioritise Covid-19 related requests. These requests will not be charged at the premium two hour rate. 

Should our capacity become stretched, or the situation with Covid-19 change, we may need to scale back our operations. 

Thank you for your patience during this period. We look forward to working with you in the future. 

If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Service Department through email at customer-services@bl.uk.

On Demand

British Library On Demand is the document supply service from the British Library. We scan and send chapters and articles from our collections so you can have them when and where you need them

Search and order or find out more about what British Library On Demand can do for you or your organisation. You can also check if the content you require is available through the Open Access Button. This tool allows you to access research content available free and unrestricted online.