What is Interlibrary Loan?

It is not possible for the Wilson Library or Law Library to have all the information you may need due to building size, budgets, and the amount of information available in the world.  It can be an article you find in the databases that we don’t have full-text or a book you hear about on the radio or in a magazine. We do our best to find it for you through Interlibrary Loan, but sometimes it is not possible.

Request an article or  book from  Interlibrary Loan

Who can request materials from Interlibrary Loan?

Current faculty, staff, and students.

What Can You Request From Interlibrary Loan?

Just About Anything!

You can request books, articles, book chapters, dissertations, or just about anything else. It does not need to be a citation you find through the library databases. We will do our best to find what you request, but sometimes we aren’t able to find another library that owns the item.

How Long Does Interlibrary Loan Take?

The time to receive your requested items from Interlibrary Loan can vary for a few different reasons:

• Articles arrive more quickly than books since they are delivered electronically to your Interlibrary Loan account. You may receive an article within a day or it may take up to two weeks.
• Wait times can drastically differ as your request is sent to a list of libraries. If the first library can lend the item, you will receive it quickly. If the request goes to multiple libraries before one can lend it, it will take longer.
• If you are requesting a book, you should allow for at least a week because the book has to be shipped through snail mail.
• Also, be aware that it may take days or weeks to obtain, as delivery is contingent on the lending library’s policies.

Start your research early! If you procrastinate requesting the items you need, there may not be time to get them for you.