How to Use Interlibrary Loan

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Submit an Interlibrary Loan request

The ILL Request form is accessible via the main page of the UA library website. Click on Interlibrary Loan.

Follow the steps below to submit an ILL request:

• On the UA Library main page, click on Interlibrary Loan under the Services menu.
• On the next page, click on Logon to the ILL Request Form.
• On the following page, enter your CatCard number and click on the Logon button.
• On the next page, under Make A Request, click on the button that corresponds with the type of request you are submitting:

 

• REQUEST A LOAN - Click on this button to view the form for submitting a request for a loan. Examples include books, entire conference proceedings, maps, CD's, DVD's, videos, or microfilm reels or microfiche.
• REQUEST A DOCUMENT- Click on this button to view the form for submitting a request for a photocopy. Examples include journal, newspaper, or magazine articles, copies of maps, or copies of a conference paper.
• REQUEST A BOOK CHAPTER - Click on this button to view the form for submitting a request for a copy of a chapter from a book or anthology.
• REQUEST A THESIS - Click on this button to view the form for submitting a request for a loan of a thesis or dissertation.

 

• Depending on which button you click, you will be directed to a request form where you must enter the book or article citation information. Please be as thorough and complete as possible so that we can find the correct item for you.
  PLEASE NOTE: If the item is owned by the UA Library but cannot be found on the shelves (see below), please enter a note indicating that it could not be found in the Notes field.
• Click on the Submit Request button at the bottom to submit your information. Once you have submitted the request, it is sent to ILL where it is processed and routed to potential lenders. We will notify you by email once we receive your ILL item.
• Click on Exit to Main Menu button at the upper left to enter another request or to exit the system.

Check the status of a request

You can view whether or not your request has been viewed by our staff, sent to a lending library, shipped to our library, or returned back to the lender.

To view the status of your requests:

1. From the UA Library Web page, click on the Interlibrary Loan link.
2. On the next page, click on Logon to the ILL Request Form.
3. Login with your CatCard.
4. On the Main Page under Review Requests, click on the View/Modify Outstanding Requests button.
5. You will then be directed to a page with a list of all your requests in process with their corresponding statuses.
6. If you click on the button next to your request, you can view Detailed Information regarding your request.

Cancelled requests

Typically, an ILL request is cancelled for one of the following reasons:

• The item is owned by the UA Library
• The request cannot be found as cited
• The item is non-circlating or currently in use
• ILL cannot locate a library which owns the item
• The item is too new and has not been cataloged by a library, or has not yet been published

If the reason for cancellation can be corrected, please follow the instuctions provided in the cancellation message.  For all other inqueries regarding cancelled requests, please contact the ILL office at askill@u.library.arizona.edu.

Access Interlibrary Loan requests

Loans: You will be notified by email when items arrive. To receive an email notification, be sure your current email address is in StudentLink (all students) or EmployeeLink(faculty and staff). You can also change the email address in your ILL request page by clicking on the Change User Information on the main request form.

Articles: All article requests are delivered electronically. UA Interlibrary Loan will send you an email with a direct link to your article in PDF format.

To view all your articles requested via ILL, follow these directions:

1. From the UA Library Web page, click on the Interlibrary Loan link.
2. On the next page, click on Logon to the ILL Request Form.
3. Login with your CatCard.
4. Scroll down to the Review Requests section of the form.
5. Click on the View/Download Electronically Received Articles button. You will then see all the articles you have requested.
6. On the following page, click on the link in the Transaction # column to view or download your article. These articles will remain on our server for 30 days.

PLEASE NOTE: If for some reason we cannot obtain an electronic version of your request(s), we will print and mail you the article(s) to the address indicated on your original request.

Renew an Interlibrary Loan loan request

The front cover strap of your ILL item will indicate whether or not the lender allows renewals of ILL items. Under the heading PLEASE NOTE THESE LENDING RESTRICTIONS,

You will see either:

Renewals OK

or

No Renewals

If renewals are allowed, follow these instructions to request a renewal of your ILL item.

To renew an ILL item online:

1. From the UA Library Web page, click on the Interlibrary Loan link.
2. On the next page, click on Logon to the ILL Request Form.
3. Login with your CatCard.
4. Scroll down the Main Menu page, and click on the View/Renew Checked Out Items button.
5. A list of your checked out ILL items will be displayed.
6. Click on the View/Edit button next to the item you want renewed.
7. Click on the Request Renewal button at the right. If the item cannot be renewed, a message, "This item does not allow renewals", will appear.*
8. You will be notified via email if the renewal was approved or denied.

*Renewals can be submitted no earlier than 10 days before the due date. This is required because most institutions have a default renewal time period that they grant to ILL items. These default periods can be 10 days or 14 days or more, depending on the lending library's policies.

For example if a renewal is submitted on May 1st for an item due on May 10th to a lending library that only renews for 10 days, the lender will extend the due date based on the date they received the renewal request. In this example, they would extend only to the original due date.

PLEASE NOTE: The lending library is solely responsible for the decision of how long to extend the due date. The lending library may decide not to renew the material at all, even if renewal requests are allowed.

Return an Interlibrary Loan loan request

Please return ILL loan requests to the Express Document Center.  If desired, a receipt, which is included with the ILL request can be signed and dated by the Express Document Center to verify an item's return.  

If the Main Library is closed, ILL loan requests can be placed in the Main Library bookdrop.  However a receipt would not be possible using this method.

Log-in problems

There are a few reasons why a user may not be able to log into the ILL request system:

1. You are new to the university.
2. You have just obtained a new CatCard number and are entering the new number to log in.
3. You have never used ILL or any library service before, but are a current and valid UA student, staff, or faculty member.
4. You have an extremely overdue item(s) and have been blocked from the system.
5. Your regular library fines exceed the maximum $5 limit and have been blocked from ILL.

For reasons 1-3, you will see a message indicating that the system does not recognize you as a student, faculty member, or staff person when you try to log in. If this is the case, please contact the ILL office by phone (621-6438) or email and we will enter your information directly into our system.

For reason 4, you are responsible for the return of the material by the due date. The overdue fine for ILL items is $1.00 per day and applies to all users.

Items extremely overdue (14 or more days overdue) are subject to a $140 replacement fee which will appear in your library circulation record. In addition, you will be blocked from using the ILL request system. If the book is returned after the 14-day period, the $140 can be waived, but you will still be fined a $15 overdue processing fee. Once we receive the overdue items, you will regain access to the ILL request system.

For reason 5, you will need to pay the fine in full, negotiate the fine at the Circulation Desk, or fill out a fines appeal form online. Once the fine is cleared on your regular library account, you will regain access to the ILL request system. For more information please see the Fines and Appeal Web Page.

Printing problems

If you are encountering problems viewing or printing your article(s), please make sure you are following these recommendations:

Download your article and then Save to Disk. This works best if you are trying to access your article via a dial-up or other slow Internet connection. The articles are in PDF format and are rather large, so it is best to download the file completely, save it to an area on your computer's hard drive, and then print or view your articles off-line.

Be sure you have the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your PC. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer and we recommend that you have the latest version.

If none of these recommendations help you or fix your problems, please contact us.