Can't find it? Request it!
Suggest a purchase
Guelph Public Library aims to build a balanced collection that reflects the needs and interests of our community. All suggestions are reviewed according to our Material selection policy. You may suggest up to 3 items per month.
How to suggest a title
- Check the Catalogue first to make sure we don’t already own the item.
- Submit a suggest a purchase form.
While we appreciate every suggestion, not all items can be added to our collection.
Purchase guidelines
When reviewing requests, we use the following criteria:
- Suggested titles must be published and available for purchase in Canada.
- Titles should have been published within the last two years. For anything older, consider submitting an interlibrary loan request.
What happens next?
Suggested purchase requests are reviewed monthly. If we are able to order your suggestion, it will appear in our catalogue, and we will do our best to place a hold for you.
Looking for older or out-of-print titles?
If a title is older than two years, out of print, or does not meet our purchase guidelines, you may request it through our interlibrary loan service using the form at the bottom of this page.
Borrow from another library
Didn't find what you were looking for in our catalogue? You can submit an interlibrary loan request to borrow items from other library systems in Ontario.
Before submitting your request please be advised that:
- Interlibrary loans are free of charge.
- We can request microfilm from the Archives of Ontario on your behalf.
- We can request materials from Ontario University Libraries but there may be a fee to do so. This fee is charged to the patron borrowing the item and is due upon receipt of the material.
- We have a limit of three (3) active requests per patron at a time.
- Interlibrary loan requests can take anywhere from four to six weeks (or more) to arrive.
- We do borrow alternative formats such as books on CD and Large Print.
- We do not borrow:
- material held in Guelph’s collection
- materials less than a year old
- DVDs, Blu-rays, video games, textbooks, eBooks, eAudiobooks
- cost prohibitive materials
How do I request material?
There are two ways:
- Online form - Submit your request using the form at the bottom of this page.
- Self-serve interlibrary loan - If you would like to be able to make your own requests you may create a self-serve account with Worldshare, opens a new window and have access to the D2D discovery portal. For more information on how to create and place your own interlibrary loans please review this training document, opens a new window.
Interlibrary loan policies
We ask that all patrons who request interlibrary loans service:
- Pick up all Interlibrary Loans received in a timely manner
- Adhere to due dates set by the lending library
- Return all items in the condition they were received
- Check out all items received from lending libraries
Repeated non-observance of the above may result in a denial of access to this service.
You will be charged for any lost or damaged materials borrowed through interlibrary loans as determined by the lending library. Charges stemming from an interlibrary loan are non-refundable.