Request a missing article or book before the assignment deadline

Check that the item is genuinely missing

Search your catalogue by title and identifier and inspect alternative formats. A chapter may be available through its parent book, while an article might appear under a journal record. Ask a librarian if the reference is incomplete or difficult to interpret. This check can prevent requesting something already accessible through an unfamiliar link.

Confirm that you need the original source rather than a secondary summary that mentions it. Read the surrounding context in the source that led you there. If the reference is wrong or incomplete, copy what you have and explain the uncertainty to the library instead of inventing missing publication details.

Build a complete request record

Collect author or editor, full title, publication year, publisher or journal, edition, volume, issue and page range as appropriate. Include the DOI, ISBN or ISSN when available. For a chapter, distinguish the chapter author and title from the book editor and title. Keep a copy of the submitted details.

State the latest date the material would be useful if the form allows it. Explain whether you need a whole book or a specific passage. Do not request the entire book automatically when a clearly identified chapter is the relevant item; let the library advise on the available and permitted supply route.

Understand the proposed route

Read how you will receive the material, what collection or access step is required and whether any conditions apply. A notification that an item is ready may still require you to visit a particular site or open it within a stated period. Add those steps to your research plan.

Ask about an expected timeframe without treating an estimate as a promise. If the service cannot obtain the item, ask what alternatives are possible. Avoid submitting the same request through several routes simultaneously unless staff advise it, as this can create confusion about which request remains active.

Keep the assignment moving

While waiting, work on sections supported by sources you already have. Identify what the missing item is expected to contribute: a foundational argument, a disputed quotation or a particular dataset. Search for other relevant work that addresses the same question without pretending it is interchangeable with the unavailable source.

If the missing material is essential to the assigned task, tell the tutor early and describe the access problem. Ask how to proceed under the course's guidance. Do not fill the gap by citing a text you have not read as though you consulted it directly; distinguish secondary references according to the required referencing style.

Use and close the request properly

When the source arrives, check that it is the correct edition or article and inspect whether all required pages are present. Follow the supplied terms for access, copying and return. Prioritise the relevant reading while the material is available and capture full citation details in your notes.

Tell the library if the request is no longer needed before it is fulfilled, using its process. Return borrowed material through the specified route. Record whether the source changed your argument or merely confirmed something already supported. That final judgment helps you make more selective requests during the next research project.

Your next steps

• Search alternative formats before requesting.
• Supply complete bibliographic details and identifiers.
• Record the latest useful date and any access steps.
• Continue research while keeping the missing source clearly marked.

Keep planning

• Turn module handbooks into one assessment calendar
• Keep high-demand library books from derailing preparation
• Translate an assignment brief into writing decisions
• Reduce an assignment's word count without cutting its reasoning