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ILL Home | ILL Help | ILL FAQ | ILL Policies | Borrowing libraries
What is Interlibrary Loan (often called ILL)?
Am I eligible to use LTS Interlibrary Loan services?
Do I need any special software to use the Interlibrary Loan system?
Is there a limit on the number of requests I can submit?
What can I borrow through Interlibrary Loan services?
How long will I have to wait for the book/article I requested to arrive?
How will I be notified when the book/article I requested is available?
Where do I pick up and return ILL materials?
Where can I use Interlibrary Loan materials?
Can I request a renewal/extend the due date?
Interlibrary Loan is a service through which Brandeis University faculty, students, and staff can borrow information materials now owned by the University from partner libraries and institutions. In turn, Brandeis Library and Technology Services provides loans of Brandeis-owned materials to partner libraries and institutions around the world.
As stated in the American Library Association/Reference and User Services Association National Interlibrary Loan Code (approved in 2001, revised January, 2005), "libraries have an obligation to obtain material to meet the informational needs of users when local resources do not meet those needs. Interlibrary loan (ILL), a mechanism for obtaining material is essential to the vitality of all libraries."
If you are a currently enrolled student, a faculty member, or a member of the staff at Brandeis University, you are eligible to use LTS Interlibrary Loan services.
In addition to an Internet connection and a Web browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Netscape, or Safari), you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader (version 5 or higher) to access articles delivered electronically. You can download Acrobat Reader for free here.
In order to process the heavy volume of requests the Interlibrary Loan Department receives, please submit no more than 10 requests in a given day.
The answer is: anything not owned by Brandeis University!
You may also request items which are checked out or missing. Students writing Senior Honors theses, graduate students and faculty may request items on Reserve. Please let ILL staff know in the NOTES field of the ILL request form if you are requesting an item that is checked out, missing, or on Reserve.
However, please note: National Interlibrary Loan Code prohibits the borrowing and lending of the following materials:
A note on borrowing dissertations:
There may be a time when you will want to borrow a doctoral dissertation from another library. When we receive these requests, we make every attempt to order them, however, generally speaking, these are difficult to obtain, and libraries will only loan this type of material if they own two copies. If we are able to borrow a copy of a dissertation for you, be aware that many times the second copy or Copy 2 is on microfilm and restricted to In Library Use only.
If we cannot obtain a dissertation through ILL, you may order it yourself through Proquest/University Microfilms International. Proquest/UMI charges between $30.00 and $40.00 for an unbound copy of a dissertation. Prices may be lower for microfiche copies.
Physical media such as books and microforms generally take approximately 2 to 10 days to arrive on campus for you to pick up. The delay is incurred while we await action by potential lending libraries or institutions in responding to requests and shipping materials. Some items may take up to four or five weeks to borrow, depending on the complexity of the request the rarity of the item(s) being requested, while others may not be able to be borrowed.
For articles, delivery time will generally be between 1 and 5 days.
When materials you have requested arrive, we immediately send an email message to notify you that the item is available. Once you receive this email notification, books and other physical media can be picked up at the circulation desk at Goldfarb Library. Articles will be available via your Interlibrary Loan account over the Internet, unless other arrangements have been made.
Please note that articles are available electronically for 30 days from the day you receive notification, so it is a good idea to save the article locally, to your computer or to a disc, so that you can have access to it for as long as you need.
Picking up: books, microforms, and other physical media can be picked up at the circulation desk at Goldfarb Library. In order to pick up your ILL material, you must present a Brandeis I.D. card.
Articles can be accessed electronically by logging onto your Interlibrary Loan account over the Internet, unless otherwise arranged for. If we receive an article you have requested that cannot be delivered electronically (unusual size, tables, photographs), it will be available at the circulation desk at Goldfarb Library. If after 30 days you have not picked up the article, we will send it to you via campus mail.Returning: please return ALL ILL materials to the circulation desk at the Goldfarb Library.
Once returned, ILL materials are checked back into the ILL system, ensuring that all materials borrowed are accounted for upon their return to the library. After they are checked back into the ILL system, we send them back to the lending library, who in turn sends us a message confirming receipt.
Most materials obtained through Interlibrary Loan may be used outside of the Libraries. However, if a lender indicates that a requested book or other item must be Library Use Only, you must comply with this restriction. It is up to the lending library to determine whether or not material can be used outside of the Libraries.
The due date for a book or microform borrowed through Interlibrary Loan is located on the accompanying slip of paper. The due date is assigned by the lending library, not by the Interlibrary Loan Department or Circulation Department at Brandeis, and varies depending on the lending library's policies.
Remember: monthly and semester loan periods are for Brandeis University materials only, and they in no way apply to ILL materials borrowed from other libraries.
If you need a book beyond its due date, you can request a renewal! You can request a renewal for an item you have borrowed beginning four days prior to the due date for the item in question. To request a renewal, login to your Interlibrary Loan account and click on the "View/ Renew Checked out Items" link in the menu on the left-hand side of the screen. In the screen that appears, open the record for the item you would like to renew by clicking on the Transaction Number, then click on the red "Request Renewal" link at the top of the screen.
Renewal requests are forwarded to lending libraries who decide whether or not to grant the renewal and for how long. You will receive an email when the lending library responds to the renewal request.
There is no charge associated with borrowing materials via ILL. The only potential cost associated with borrowing is in the event that you lose the item(s) you borrowed. In this case, you will be charged for the replacement cost of the item as determined by the lending library.
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