The PAU Library offers ILL services to provide free electronic delivery of research materials from other libraries to current students, faculty, and staff. ILL supplements the resources that are freely available in full text through the PAU library and on the open web and operates in compliance with all limitations imposed by copyright law and publisher licensing agreements. In addition, you can use the PAU Library's ILL platform, Tipasa, to request other items that are not available in the library collection or through ILL, free of charge.
Copyright law generally restricts electronic delivery of research materials to one chapter from a single book title, one article from a single journal issue, or one document from another single source (e.g., a newspaper article, book review, or conference presentation abstract). Although publisher licensing agreements can sometimes prevent libraries from sharing some or all of their digital content with other libraries, the PAU Library is almost always able to fill ILL requests that meet the criteria outlined above, except in the case of textbooks (see below).
Although ILL is not available for requesting print or digital copies of complete items like books, journal issues, videos, and psychological tests from other libraries, you can still use the PAU Library's ILL services to request such items from an alternative source. We recently integrated our item request process into our ILL services to prevent copyright and licensing compliance issues, build a stronger library collection, and optimize outcomes for you. Free content will be provided whenever possible, and any potential library purchases will be given full consideration in accordance with the library's collection development policies. Please note, however, that textbooks generally cannot be purchased for whole-class use through libraries, so students should plan on purchasing their textbooks through the online bookstore.
GETTING HELP: Having trouble finding what you need? Having trouble with access? You can rest assured, because the PAU librarians are here to assist you! Please email us at librarian@paloaltou.edu and provide the details so we can respond to you in the best way possible. We're happy to communicate with you about a question or concern via email, or we can set up a phone call or Zoom session if that would be helpful. No request is too big or too small, so please reach out at any time!