Library Guides: Electronics & Robotics: Open Access articles &amp; Inter Library Loans

Access to journal articles that are not a part of the Library's collection

When you are producing your own research project (whether final stage undergraduate, Masters projects or PhD and beyond), you will use many more resources and may need to access resources outside of the Library's full text collections. This page explains how identify content the Library does not subscribe to and how to request access to support your learning and research.

EEER key pre-print server

What is a pre-print server?

arXiv is an Open Access pre-print server where physicists, mathematicians and computer scientists post submitted versions of publications to share with peers. These versions may not be peer reviewed or accepted for publication yet although many provide links to later versions which may include some edits and changes as a result of reviewer comments.

arXiv
Open access to 875,751 e-prints in Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics

Open Access versions of journal articles

Open Access browser extensions (find 'free' versions of paywalled .pdfs)

OA tools can be used by anyone!

Open Access refers to legally accessible, free of charge access to published research outputs. The journal articles we view through Primo or Web of Science or the majority of those that open full text through from Google Scholar are due the Library paying an annual subscription payment to the publisher. Public money is used to fund research grants and there is now a growing Open Access movement to ensure that the public can also access the outputs of these grants without additional charge.

Below are some Open Access search engines and browser add on tools that will hunt for legal openly accessible versions of full text of articles e.g. within institution repositories. Simply look for articles in your usual way and, when you find an article you wish to view, the browser tools will pop up on your screen indicating if free full text has been found elsewhere.

These are ideal tools to use in conjunction with the Library's full text subscriptions and before placing an Inter Library Loan. (Sometimes the Open Access of the article will look different - this is due to copyright. Ask Kate if you have any questions).

Add the following browser extensions to your desktop:

OA browser extensions

Endnote Click

Unpaywall

Open Access Button

Open Access Helper

CORE

Inter Library Loans

Inter Library Loans (ILLS) are only available for students working on final year projects, Masters dissertations, researchers and academic staff.

ILLs are requests for journal articles not in the Library's collection. The Library will purchase one-off journal articles for students at dissertation stage from the British Library. Articles will be emailed direct from the British Library to your inbox. They cannot be saved and will expire after a given time due to copyright. You will need a certain version of Adobe on your p.c.

ILLs can be requested via the link on Primo and full guidance is available:

Library Skills Guide: Inter Library Loans - everything you need to know