Borrowing Items from Other Libraries

What to do if the book is not available at your library?

There is always a solution! But it depends on the following:

Is it an audiobook or e-book available digitally?

First check if it is available at the e-library (Rafbókasafnið).

If you have a valid library card with the Reykjavík City Library, you have access to the e-library. Here you can find instructions for logging in to the e-library. There, you can also suggest that books not owned by the library be purchased for lending. This can often take much less time than getting a book sent across the country or from further away – more on that below.

If this does not apply, in the vast majority of cases it is possible to get the book sent as a:

• Department loan – between locations of the Reykjavík City Library, or from two other specific public libraries in the Capital Area.
• Interlibrary loan – from a library outside the Capital Area.

Department loans are free of charge, but a fee is charged for interlibrary loans in accordance with the library's tariff.

Is the book available at another Reykjavík City Library?

If the book you are looking for is, for example, not available at Grófin but is available at Spöngin, it is easy to have it transferred. Log in to "My Account" at borgarbokasafn.leitir.is, find the book there, reserve it, and you can select your local library as the pickup location.

Deliveries are made between the libraries on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so it may take a few days for the book to arrive at your library – and a bit longer if all copies are checked out.

The Reykjavík City Library does not charge a fee for this service.

Of course, you can always call the library where the book is located, or send an email to borgarbokasafn@borgarbokasafn.is, and ask for it to be transferred.

Is the book available at another library in the Capital Area?

Public libraries in the Capital Area cooperate, which means that if you have a library card with the Reykjavík City Library, it is also valid at the libraries in Garðabær, Hafnarfjörður, Kópavogur, Mosfellsbær, and Seltjarnarnes.

In addition, there are regular trips between the Reykjavík City Library, Mosfellsbær Library, and Seltjarnarnes Library. If the book you are looking for is available at either of them, but not at the Reykjavík City Library, it is easy to have it transferred, and it does not cost anything extra. To do this, you can contact either library directly, or send a hold request through Leitir.is and select any branch of the Reykjavík City Library as the pickup location.

If the book is only available at one of the other public libraries in the Capital Area (in Garðabær, Hafnarfjörður, or Kópavogur), you will need to make a trip to that library yourself. But remember that if you have a valid library card with the Reykjavík City Library, it is also valid at these libraries.

Is the book available at another library outside the Capital Area?

If the book you are looking for is, for example, only available at the Municipal Library of Akureyri, you can have it sent via an interlibrary loan to the Reykjavík City Library. You start by logging in to Leitir.is, find the book, and select "Interlibrary loan" (Millisafnalán). Please note that the Reykjavík City Library charges a fee for each interlibrary loan in accordance with the tariff.

Here are more detailed, step-by-step instructions from the Consortium of Icelandic Libraries (Landskerfi bókasafna) - in Icelandic.

Is the book nowhere to be found in the country according to Leitir.is?

If the book you are looking for does not seem to be available anywhere, you can go to Leitir.is and select "Interlibrary loan" at the top of the page. This opens a form which you fill out to the best of your ability and submit. You do not need to log in to Leitir.is to do this, but requests for interlibrary loans are binding, and the library charges a fee for each interlibrary loan according to the tariff.

The loan period for books borrowed from foreign libraries is usually three to four weeks.

Here are more detailed, step-by-step instructions from the Consortium of Icelandic Libraries (Landskerfi bókasafna) - in Icelandic.

If you have further questions about interlibrary loans, you can call your local library, send us an inquiry at borgarbokasafn@borgarbokasafn.is, or send a message on the Reykjavík City Library's Facebook page.

If the book is available elsewhere – but you feel that the Reykjavík City Library should own it!

Then let us know. Please submit a purchase suggestion; we review all incoming suggestions and will let you know if and when the book (or CD, record, or whatever it may be) is purchased.