Interlibrary Loan - FAQ: Home

 

Interlibrary loan (ILL) assists Stevenson University students, faculty, and staff in accessing resources that are not available in the SU Library's databases or library collection.  SU patrons can request and borrow items from other libraries, and in turn, the SU Library loans and sends our items to other libraries for their patrons.

ILL is a free service that is available only to currently enrolled students and currently employed faculty and staff of Stevenson University. 

 

Contact Us!

For questions or concerns about ILL,
please email

ill@stevenson.edu

or call us at

443-394-9941

General Questions

Who can use ILL?
Any currently-enrolled student or currently-employed faculty or staff member can place an ILL request.  All users must have a valid SU login.

 

How do I start using ILL?
Click here to log in to your ILL account using your regular Stevenson email address and password (SSO).  Once logged in, you can create, keep track of, or request to renew your requests.

 

Is it really free?
There is no charge to the person requesting the item.  Regular costs for ILL services and staffing are covered by the Stevenson University Library.  However, if an ILL item is damaged or lost, the requestor will be required to pay the replacement fee to the owning library.

 

What can I request through ILL?
The most common items requested through ILL are journal articles, entire print books, chapters or sections of ebooks, and chapters or sections of print books.  We ask that requests be limited to items you need for your schoolwork, teaching, or scholarship.  Interlibrary loan should not be used as an alternative to purchasing or renting an assigned textbook for the entire semester.

 

Making ILL Requests

How do I make a request?
There are two ways to start an ILL request:

1. Log into your ILL account and click the blue "Create request" button.  Fill in as much information as possible in the blank form, then submit your request.
2. In some of our databases, if you're viewing an item, you may see a link that says "Request through interlibrary loan."  If you click that link, you'll be asked to log into your ILL account, and information about the item you were viewing will be filled in automatically for you.  You may still need to add some information, such as the date by which you need the item.

More detailed instructions are available in this document:

What's the difference between a copy and a loan?
A copy is an digital version of the item, usually in PDF or TIFF format, that will be sent to you electronically through email.  Articles, ebook chapters, and book chapters are usually sent as copies.  Print books and ebooks cannot be sent as copies because libraries aren't legally able to scan or send a copy of an entire book.

A loan is a physical version of the item that will be sent to the SU Library for you to pick up and take home for a specified amount of time.  Print books are usually sent as loans.  Articles aren't usually sent as loans because libraries don't want to send out an entire issue of a journal, and ebooks are never sent as loans because libraries aren't legally able to print out and send an entire ebook.

 

What is the "need by date"?
When you place a request, the "need by date" must be at least two (2) business days in the future.  The "need by" date tells us the last possible date you can make use of the item.  Think of this as a hard deadline--if you say you need the item by this Friday, that means that you're no longer interested if we're unable to get the item by this Friday and you'd like your request to be canceled.  We recommend not using this date as a "want by" date, because if you tell us that you want it by Tuesday and we can't get it, your request will be canceled after midnight.

 

Receiving Your ILL Items

When will I receive my ILL request?
ILL is not instantaneous.  When you submit an ILL request, the SU Library staff processes your request; this is done five days a week, on Mondays through Fridays.  After that, we ask other libraries to send the item, and it takes time for the owning library to respond and fill your request.

Be prepared for it to take at least 4-8 business days for the request to be filled.  Articles usually arrive sooner, but books often take longer, especially if they're being mailed via USPS.  The sooner you place a request and the more flexible your need-by date, the better the chances that you'll receive it in time.

 

How will I get my ILL items?
For copies, your request will be sent via electronic delivery.  You'll receive an email with a link and a password to access it.  Please download the article as soon as you receive it, because the link is only good for 30 days or 5 views, whichever comes first.  By downloading the item, you're able to keep using it for longer than the 30-day/5-view limit.

For loans, your item will be sent to the SU Library for pickup.  You'll receive an automated email when the item is available.  Come to the library during our open hours to pick up your item.  You'll need your SU ID card and will need to sign a form confirming that you picked up the item.

 

What does the "Status" of my ILL request mean?
Once you've submitted an ILL request, you'll see a "status" listed in your account.  The different statuses are:

• Pending or Submitted:  Your request has been created and is waiting to be processed by an SU library staff member
• In Transit:  Your request has been accepted by another library and it is on its way, either electronically or physically
• Received:  You can now access the material (electronically for a copy, or by picking up the physical item at the library for a loan)
• Complete:  The request is considered closed or finished.  For a copy, this means that the download link and password have been sent to you; for a loan, this means the item has been returned to the owning library
• Link Expired:  This applies to copies only and means that the 30-day/5-view limit has been reached

 

Once it arrives, how long will I be able to use the ILL item?
For copies, if you download them from the server using the link and password that you receive by email, you can keep and use them forever.  If you don't download them, there is a limit of 30 days or 5 views, whichever comes first.

For loans, the loan period is determined by the library that owns the item.  When you pick up the item, it will have a paper band around it that shows the due date.

 

How do I renew an item that I borrowed through ILL?
Log into your ILL account and click the blue "Renew request" button.  You can also email the ILL staff and ask them to request the renewal for you.

Renewals are not guaranteed to be approved by the library that owns the item.  If your request is approved, you'll see the new due date in your account.

 

Canceled Requests

Why was my ILL request canceled?
If your request is canceled, you'll receive an automated email stating the reason.  The most common reasons are:

• The need by date (the date by which you said you needed the item or else you were no longer interested) has passed.  If you say you need an item by a certain date, we'll respect that and stop pursuing it after that date passes.
• No lenders are available.  We requested the item from multiple libraries and they all denied our request.  Sometimes this is because no one owns a copy of the item; other times it's because the item is unable to be sent, copied, or scanned by the owning library.
• The item can't be found as cited.  This usually happens if the request has missing information, such as the title, author, journal title, year, etc.  However, it can also happen if you've included information that matches multiple items.  In those cases, we need to know which specific article or book you want, so we don't fill your request with the wrong one.
• The item can't be requested in this format.  This is most common when a patron requests an electronic copy of an entire ebook, which libraries are not licensed to send.  You can resubmit your request for a copy of a chapter of the ebook, or a loan of the entire print book.
• This is a duplicate request.  If you already have an active request for the same item and we're waiting for a library to respond, you don't need to request it again--in fact, doing so can actually slow down the process of receiving your first request.  A request is also considered a "duplicate" if you've requested the same item in the past calendar year and your request was already filled.  We always recommend that you download the item when you first receive it, so you don't need to request it again.
• The item is already available through the SU Library's databases, in the library collection, or for free online.  We don't use ILL for items that we already have access to.  In these cases, the cancellation email will contain a link to the article in the database or online, or information about how to find the physical item in the library.

 

How do I resubmit a canceled ILL request?
Log into your ILL account and click the white "Request again" button.  Resubmitting a request is most likely to be successful if you're extending your "need by" date, or requesting a chapter or section of a book or ebook as opposed to the whole work.  Please note that if your request was canceled because no lenders are available or it was a duplicate request, it's still very unlikely that the request will be filled.

 

How do I cancel an ILL request?
Log into your ILL account and click the check box next to the request(s) you want to cancel, then click the white "Cancel requests" button at the top of the page.  You can also email the ILL staff and ask them to cancel the request for you.

 

Technical Questions

What web browser do I need for ILL?
Preferred browsers are Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.  Edge is also supported.

 

What additional software do I need?
Adobe Reader and JavaScript need to be enabled.

 

Contact

Who do I contact if I have problems with or questions about ILL?
You can reach the ILL staff via email at ill@stevenson.edu or phone at 443-394-9941.