Graduate Students

If you’re not finding the materials you need at the AUP Library, be sure to check with one of our librarians, who can often find materials that you might have missed – but know also that there are some great resources available to you beyond the AUP Library’s collection.

I.  USING OTHER PARIS LIBRARIES

Identifying books held by Paris libraries

If you’re looking for a specific title, find it in at least one of the catalogs mentioned here to discover which libraries actually have it.

To locate a specific book in another library, especially in the Paris area, a good place to start is the Catalog Collectif de France (CCFr), or the Système Universitaire de Documentation (SUDOC) catalog, both linked from the Library’s web page under Find Books in Other Libraries. See the page on “Finding Articles” for an introduction to searching in SUDOC.

Often you can also check the availability of materials at Paris libraries individually, using their online catalog.  For links to libraries that we recommend on a regular basis for materials not available at AUP, see our web page Find Books in Other Libraries.

Found a book in another library’s catalog? Before going, check their access policies…

You can find most French libraries’ access policies in SUDOC, CCFr, or on the library’s own website. Many libraries in Paris are not open to the public, many charge access fees, and most are non-lending libraries. While English language materials may be available, the working language will be French.

…and check with an AUP librarian

We recommend that you see a librarian before going to another library; we can help you determine which library is best suited to your research needs. In addition, we may be able to give you a referral letter that will give you access to those libraries that are not open to the public (“tous publics”). For AUP students and faculty that have received a letter of referral from us, arrangements can also be made to reimburse access fees to other libraries when they are over 5 euros.  Contact User Services at 01 40 62 05 61 or userservices@aup.edu for further information.

II.  REQUESTING MATERIALS FROM LIBRARIES OUTSIDE OF PARIS:

      DOCUMENT DELIVERY

Books and articles from journals which are not owned by the Library but which are needed for research purposes may be obtained from other libraries through document delivery at no charge to AUP students and faculty.  Document delivery is available to others at a fee of 30 euros per item.

To place a request, click below on Request Items You Need. There are two forms available, one for requesting books and another for requesting copies of articles. Provide the information requested on the form as thoroughly and accurately as possible, since citations that need to be completed or corrected can lead to significant delays in the fulfillment of your request.

The Library cannot guarantee how long it will take to obtain materials, since much depends on the library supplying the item, but typically you should plan for article copies to take at least 2 weeks to arrive and books at least a month. Note that if the item is available in another Paris library, we ask that you go use that local copy instead of requesting it through document delivery; in general this will result in faster access for you.

Before submitting a document delivery request, please contact a librarian – together, you can verify that the item is not available locally and perhaps identify some local resources that you might have overlooked.

This page has a list of other Paris libraries that the AUP Library regularly refers students to use.  If you don't find what you are looking for at the AUP Library, take a look here to see if there might be another library of interest.