Document delivery

QUT students and staff, and QUT Visitors can request copies and loans of items from other institutions which are not held by QUT Library. All requests must be related to your QUT teaching, research or study. Loans are subject to the Library Borrowing Conditions. The service is free of charge.

Request form

How long will it take?

Request type Eligibility Approximate number of working days
Standard scan requests
  • QUT students and staff, and QUT Visitors
3 - 5 days
Standard loan requests
  • QUT students and staff, and QUT Visitors
5 - 20 days
Urgent or rush requests (add a note to the 'Comments' section)
  • QUT higher degree research students
  • QUT staff
2 -5 days

These times are estimated delivery times only, and are dependent on many factors. You'll receive an email when the item is available.

Loan period is determined by the supplying library and loans are non renewable.

Delivery of your requests

You will receive an email when your item is ready to be downloaded, picked up from the hold shelf or if it has been posted to you (for eligible users).

  • Digital delivery: scanned items will remain available for download for 30 days from the day you are emailed a link to the file, or for 5 views (due to copyright requirements), whichever is sooner.
  • Loans: loans can be collected from hold shelf in the pickup location you specified in your request (the location is also included in the email you receive).
  • Postal loans: if you requested postal delivery, you will receive an email to advise when the item has been posted to you.

Manage your document delivery requests

You can view and track progress of your document delivery requests as well as download requested documents via My Library.

Request statuses

When tracking your requests, you may see the following statuses:

  • Library request. Submitted - you have submitted your request and it is waiting to be processed. You will be sent an email confirming the request was submitted.
  • Library request. In Process - your scan request is being processed (including copyright checking and approval). Requests can be cancelled if QUT Library already has the item, if not enough detail is supplied in the request or the request does not comply with copyright requirements.
  • Library Request. Sent by other institution - your request has been sent to another institution.
  • Library Request. Received by Library. You will be notified by email when the item is ready - the item has been received by QUT Library for further processing. You will receive an email when it is ready for collection from the hold shelf or has been posted to eligible students.
  • Library Request. Emailed - the request has been completed and the scan has been emailed to you. You can also log in to My Library to view and download the scan.

What happens if I lose or damage a document delivery item?

If you lose or damage an item that you have borrowed from another institution through the Document Delivery service then you will be asked to pay the replacement cost that is applied by the lending institution. Providing a replacement copy is not an option.