FAQ Interlibrary Loan
Quick Reference
- See the Interlibrary Loan pages for policies. ILL pages specific to user type include
- See FAQ ILLiad for help with the system that we use for Interlibrary Loan
- See FAQ MeLCat for help with this Michigan-based ILL system
The ILL Process
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Before we order
- We check to make sure that we do not own it
- If we do and it is checked out we will order it for you
- If it is available we will notify you or, if you take classes off campus we will mail it to you
- We check to make sure that it is not available to you online.
- NOTE: we check first to make sure that you can retrieve it
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How we order
- We order first from libraries that can provide items quickly
- We can order from up to 5 libraries
- In some cases we order articles from document delivery services
- We check on the status of your request every 3 days or so and follow up on problems with the lending library
- You can monitor the status of your request through ILLiad
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How we deliver
- When we receive the items we notify you immediately via email.
- For articles we use ILLiad to provide 24-7 access to your requests
- For articles we receive in the mail we use Campus Mail for faculty and staff
- If you take classes off campus we will send you the materials (you are responsible for returning materials with due dates)
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Before we cancel a request
- If it cannot be found as cited:
- We verify your citation to check for mistakes or incompleteness
- We search not only by title but ISSN (articles) or ISBN (books)
- If we found a matching record on the system but no libraries are able/willing to loan to us:
- We try other searches (variations on title, ISSN/ISBN, other editions, etc.) to find a record with different libraries to choose from
- For articles we check to see if the article is available free online on the Web
- If our original order comes back unfilled and there are more libraries to choose from we will contact you to see if you want us to try again
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Why We Can't Fill Every Request
- Dissertations
- Usually only 1-2 libraries own a dissertation, and many choose not to loan them to other libraries (our success rate is ca. 40%).
- NOTE: Dissertations may be purchased from ProQuest Information and Learning (formerly UMI Microfilms)
- Go to UMI's Dissertations and Theses page at http://www.umi.com/umi/dissertations/disexpress.shtml
Select "Connect to Dissertation Express as an Individual" - Follow prompts until getting to the search screen
- Be very selective in doing a search for the dissertation. My recommendations:
- Search by last name comma first name, e.g., "Smith, John", or
- Search by dissertation title using either first few words or a very few key words from the title
Check box in "Check here" column for desired item and press "Add to shopping cart" button - Follow prompts to complete your order
- New Books
- Many times information about a new book is made available before the book is released (pre-publication information from Books in Print or Amazon.com).
- In those cases the book is not available *anywhere*
- When a book is finally released for distribution it takes a while for libraries to purchase, process, and catalog them.
- In addition, many libraries to not lend recently purchased books (ourselves included)
- Old, Reference and Novelty Books
- Very old books are often in poor condition or are rare and irreplaceable and are kept in non-circulating Archives collections (ourselves included)
- Few libraries lend Reference books
- Some novelty/specialty books may have a limited publication (e.g., genealogy family histories) or may be considered a high-risk for theft or damage and are not lent
- Articles
- Electronic journals are exempted from the copyright provisions of Fair Use for interlibrary loans. We can only borrow articles that are in print or microform formats.
- New, foreign, and esoteric journals may be represented only a few libraries. Unfortunately, availability of the citation and abstract does not always relate to the availability of the article.
- Expense. In cases where costs are prohibitive we will contact you (e.g., copyright fees, borrowing fees, etc.)
FAQ
- Getting into ILLiad is no problem, but I cannot read the document
- Adobe Acrobat is probably not loaded. This may be done at http://www.adobe.com/
- NOTE: step one is loading the download file onto your PC.
- ote *where* the download is going to: you will need to run the downloaded file to actually install it on your PC.
- I am unable to Print articles from ILLiad and Adobe Acrobat is installed
- If Acrobat opens in your browser instead of a separate window make sure you use the Acrobat print icon instead of your browser print commands.
- Forgetting to do this will result in printing one blank page only.
- These ILL articles come in huge files, sometimes 1 mb and more. Not only does it take a long time for some of them to load (depending on your connection), but then printing them requires reloading again. Depending on your Printer's memory, this could take a long time as well.
- Bottom line: if the document is loading, be *very* patient.
- Best bet: find the fastest Internet connection and printer combination to print the articles.
- I was not notified that an article or book had arrived
- If you were not notified, either your ILLiad contact information in is incorrect, or a telephone message could not be delivered.
- NOTE: You may update your contact information in ILLiad
It still remains your responsibility to check on the status of your request (permit at least a week to pass first!). Contact the Circulation Desk (989.964.4240)
