Request Books by Mail

Books By Mail is a service offered to IU Bloomington students, faculty and staff to facilitate their research and teaching. We will mail circulating items from the Bloomington Campus to your home via UPS.

Use Books By Mail if you need to have books shipped to your home. Use Request Delivery if you want to pick up items at a library on the Bloomington campus. Placing the same request via both services may result in a delay in the delivery of your materials.

What materials can be shipped?

Only circulating, on-shelf materials from the Bloomington campus are eligible to be shipped.

Non-circulating materials, microforms, media, audio, Interlibrary Loan, Law Library, non-Bloomington campus libraries, and special collection materials are not eligible for shipping. For media, instructors may be able to use the Libraries’ Streaming Service.

Please do not use Books By Mail to request articles or book chapters - use our Request Article Delivery Service for those items.

Who is eligible for books by mail?

The service is available to IU Bloomington affiliated students, faculty and staff in good standing who are learning or teaching remotely.

Are there delivery restrictions with books by mail?

We will send materials via UPS to U.S. addresses only. UPS requires a street address, so we cannot send materials to a post office or similar drop box address. Users may request up to five books per shipment and are limited to two shipments per month.

Are there costs associated with books by mail?

There are no costs for this service.

How do you request books by mail?

Fill out the request form. (There is no need to use the "Request This" button in IUCAT; the Books By Mail request form is sufficient.) Requested materials will be checked out to the user and shipped. Library staff will send prompt email messages regarding any material that cannot be located or that, because of size or condition, cannot be shipped.

How is Books By Mail different than Distance Education Services?

The Libraries’ Distance Education Services is a more encompassing service than Books By Mail, although that service also will mail books to students participating in official online IU programs. Books By Mail is a service open to all IUB affiliated students, faculty, and staff who find themselves learning or teaching remotely.