Submitting ILL Requests

Submitting Requests

There are two ways of placing interlibrary loan requests.

1. Log on to ILLiad and fill out an ILL request form.
2. Send an ILL request directly from a database to ILLiad.

National and regional lending agreements among libraries require that we supply certain basic information about the book or journal article you want. For books, please include:

• Author
• Title
• Edition (if a particular one is needed)
• Place of publication
• Publisher
• Date of publication
• Series (if there is one)

For articles, this includes:

• The full title of the periodical
• Volume number
• Issue number or issue date
• Year
• Author and full title of the article
• Page numbers
  

The source of your information (database, index, etc.) is often helpful in confirming a citation.

This information is necessary to confirm the existence of the item you are requesting and to find a library that owns the item requested. If the information supplied by you is vague, incomplete or inaccurate, your request will be delayed while we attempt to both verify and locate supply sources. Forwarding unverified, incomplete information to supply sources will also result in delays or unfulfilled requests.

When submitting a request, check the Duke Catalog for the availability of books and periodicals. Articles from periodicals that are missing or not available at Duke may be available electronically. Please consult with Reference or ILL staff regarding this option before submitting an ILL request for an article.

Include WorldCat Accession numbers, ISBN and ISSN numbers, or known holders in the electronic request form whenever possible.

Complete one Interlibrary Loan Request Form for each item needed.

Limits on the Number of Requests

There are is no limit on the number of requests you can submit. However, if you have a large number of requests, you may find it useful to phase them in over a period of time rather than submitting them all at once. Since material is lent to us by other libraries for only a short period of time (the usual loan period is four weeks), staggering the delivery over a longer time frame may give you more time to work with individual items.

Checking the Status of Requests

The ILLiad online system allows you to check on the status of individual requests. Once you have logged in to ILLiad, select View/Modify Outstanding Requests.

What Does It Cost?

There is no charge to the patron for obtaining most loans or copies of materials.  However, you are responsible for any fines and/or replacement costs levied by the lending library for unreturned or late-returned items.

Borrowing From Nearby Libraries

If you hold a current Duke ID card, you may visit any TRLN library (NCCU, NC State, and UNC-CH) and borrow books directly using your Duke ID card, after registering at the circulation desk in their main library.