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Finding More Books...

ISBN: what is it and how can it help me find a book?

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique numerical identifier for books and book-like publications. The 13-digit ISBN came into effect in 2007. Older books have a 10-digit ISBN. Knowing and using an ISBN can help you in several ways:

• There is no need to type in lengthy bibliographic information (title, authors etc.) when searching a catalogue or ordering a book.
• You can quickly identify the right publication and/or edition, which comes in very handy when there are many similar titles.
• It is less prone to mistakes: you can easily miss a title in your search results through a simple typing, spelling or transliteration error.
• ISBNs are standardised and machine-readable, which makes it easy for book stores and libraries to store, manage and retrieve their books.

 An example of both a 10-digit and 13-digit ISBN from a book you can find in the TU Delft Library catalogue (try looking it up!):

978-0-415-43175-0

0-415-43175-1

ILL and Suggest a Book

If you cannot find a book in the library catalogue, you could, of course, buy it yourself. However, the library offers two other useful options:

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

TU Delft Library can help you borrow books or request copies from other libraries, known as an Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Please note: this service is not free!

You can use PiCarta (Dutch National Catalogue) to check if a book is available at another library in the Netherlands and use SFX to request it.

For more information about ILL, go to Ask Your Library.  

Suggest a Book

Use the TU Delft Library's Acquisition Suggestion form to propose the purchase of a publication for the library collection. Your suggestion will be evaluated and answered within five working days.

If you need to obtain a book urgently, it is advisable to use ILL, since ordering and processing of book suggestions can take quite some time.