Suggest a book

You have access to over 750,000 print and ebooks but we know that we won't always have the book that you need for your teaching or for your research. There are several ways to obtain books and other materials for you:

Interlibrary Requests: If you need a book for your own research, an Interlibrary Request is likely the quickest method. See the 'Access books for your own research' section below.

Purchase Suggestions: Academic staff can make purchase suggestions. Each School has a fixed book budget allocation, and all suggestions are carefully considered. Use the 'Suggest a book' section below.

Suggest a book for the Library collection

If your request is urgent, please use our Interlibrary request service: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/library/info/ilr. If your book request is for reading list material, please contact readinglists.lib@sussex.ac.uk.

 

Access books for your own research

You can use our Interlibrary Requests service to obtain books and other materials not held in the Library. This will usually be the quickest way for you to gain access to materials. If you have requested a book, we will offer access to an ebook where available. 

Find out more about the interlibrary requests service

Request materials for teaching

The University uses an online Reading List system. It is an important teaching tool and a way to ensure the availability of resources in the library.

Online Reading Lists Support

Our Online Readings Lists team offers dedicated 1-2-1 training to help you take full control of your Online Reading List, making it easy to populate, edit, and update. Please contact us with your availability, and we will schedule a session for you.

If your book request is for an Online Reading List, please contact readinglists.lib@sussex.ac.uk and we can ensure that you are set up correctly to edit your List.

After submitting your Reading List, we will consider the estimated number of students and purchase multiple copies as needed. Full details and step-by-step instructions are available in our online guide.

 

  • Inspection copies

    The Library is not able to arrange for inspection copies on behalf of Academic staff. Online inspection copies can be requested through Kortext for a range of publishers. Online Access is limited to two months.Many publishers are happy to provide inspection copies for materials under consideration, although limits and retrictions may apply. For further information, visit the publisher's website directly. 

    Publisher Availability/ restrictions
    Bloomsbury 5 titles per year per academic. Available only to academics teaching courses with 12 or more students. Feedback must be submitted within 60 days of item receipt to retain print copies free of charge. Electronic copies are available for 90 days only.
    Cambridge University Press 6 titles per year per academic. Hardback only provided where paperback is not available. 
    Harvard University Press 3 titles per year per academic. Paperback and online copies only. Requests for physical copies must be made in writing, using a departmental letterhead. Physical copies must be returned after 30 days.
    Oxford University Press 5 titles per year per academic. Paperback only. 
    Palgrave Macmillan Unavailable.
    Pearson Restrictions unknown
    Polity Available only to lecturers teaching courses with over 12 students.
    Routledge Availability and limits at publisher discretion. Title must be priced at £80 or under. Feedback must be provided.
    SAGE 15 titles per year per academic. Only 3 titles can be considered at any one time. Available only to academics teaching courses with 10 or more students. Feedback must be submitted within 30 days of item receipt. Paperback and online copies only.
    Springer Unlimited online copies. Registration to Springer is required. Print copies will only be provided if an online copy is unavailable. Access to each online title will cease after 30 days.
    Stanford University Press Online copies will be provided free of charge. Access to each title will cease after 60 days. Physical copies will incur a processing charge.
    Taylor and Francis Unavailable
    Verso 3 titles per year per academic. Copies must be returned within 28 days. If the title is not adopted, the copy will be charged for. 
    Wiley-Blackwell Restrictions unknown