Take me to the library ...

February 13, 2013 8:00 AM

I am working on a short translation and I need to access some already-published texts on the subject of the piece. I've exhausted the libraries in my city, as well as the bookshops and friends, and I want to know if there is some kind of online "library" service where I could post what I was looking for -- copies of specific page numbers in a book, or copies of index or contents pages that I could then follow-up with a request for copies of certain pages. Does such a thing exist? Thank you.
posted by bwonder2 to writing & language (10 answers total)

what about inter-library loan through your public (or university) libraries?
posted by angrycat at 8:02 AM on February 13 [3 favorites]

Are you affiliated with any kind of academic institution? Most college and university libraries will do this for you as part of their interlibrary loan program. Some public libraries will too, but this varies a lot regionally. Sometimes it's free, sometimes there's a fee, depending on institutional policies.

Another place to ask would be a museum or society devoted to the topic you're translating.
posted by mskyle at 8:03 AM on February 13

If you know of the materials, you could use interlibrary loan.

I would be very surprised to learn if copyright law allows the service you are imagining.
posted by Tanizaki at 8:03 AM on February 13

Another thing! If you know where the books you're looking for are located (look them up in WorldCat if you don't) you can call or email or IM the holding library (try to contact the reference department) and ask them to make the copies for you. You might not be their #1 priority but most librarians I know like looking up weird random stuff (if they have time).
posted by mskyle at 8:12 AM on February 13 [1 favorite]

Thanks for your answers so far ... I don't have any institution, and I'm in France and the books I need aren't available here. So far simply writing to the libraries and asking does seem the most logical -- I didn't have much hope, though I remember a long time ago some kind Library of Congress librarian copying and mailing me information (snail mail, not email!).
posted by bwonder2 at 8:21 AM on February 13

I work in ILL and we do get requests from patrons (sometimes internationally) for this very kind of thing! I can't promise that you'll get a response from every department, but we've certainly scanned articles for people before. (Should the thought occur, please do not send them euros in an envelope! It was a very kind gesture but surprisingly hard to deal with foreign cash on our end...Some places may request payment, but others won't.)

It may take some time. This isn't a bad time, but March/April are often very busy for us, given the academic calendar. Provide as much information as possible-- requests for ToC and indexes are very common, but it helps to know what it is that you're looking for too. Check their catalog in advance to make sure the book is on the shelf and not checked out. Also, if you do have any friends in the states with good ILL departments, you could see if they'll pass along your requests. The Library of Congress actually still does great ILL work. Good luck!
posted by jetlagaddict at 8:40 AM on February 13 [4 favorites]

More to the mskyle response above - if you determine that your items are held by the New York Public Library I can personally vouch for the NYPL Premium Services. This is if you aren't opposed to paying a fee. They do research, document delivery and provide reproductions. I work as a reference librarian in the US and I've used them in a professional capacity with excellent results.
posted by rdnnyc at 9:05 AM on February 13 [1 favorite]

FWIW, this what information brokers do for a living. Their services tend not to be cheap, however. A good list to start with available here: http://www.aiip.org/allAIIPMembers.

Depending on how extensive your project is, you might also have good luck with services like TaskRabbit, Fiverr, TenBux, etc.
posted by woodman at 9:18 AM on February 13

Your best bet at getting information for free is to email a smaller library and ask if they can copy things for you. But there are also for-pay document delivery services that will copy articles/book sections for you. Some examples (I'm not endorsing any one of these in particular):
Infotrieve
Reprints Desk
Documents Delivered

These are based in the US and deal with US prices/copyright restrictions, but they can often handle non-US publications.

Also check out the British Library document delivery services - they might have a better collection if you're looking for European publications. They do charge for the service, though.
posted by marginaliana at 9:43 AM on February 13 [1 favorite]

While your library may vary, interlibrary loan does operate internationally.
posted by oceano at 10:19 AM on February 13