Interlibrary Loan & Document Express

In most cases, you will have your document within a day or two.  However, wait times may vary from a few days to several weeks depending on the requested article’s availability and the potential lenders.

Requests are typically processed by our staff within one business day. After we process it, we are relying on other libraries to fill that request according to their own policies and procedures.

If we can’t fill your request, you’ll receive an email with an explanation. If you haven’t received a cancellation notice, we are still trying to complete your request.

In most cases, you will have your requested item within a week.  However, wait times may vary from a few days to several weeks depending on the requested items availability and the potential lenders. 

Requests are typically processed by our staff within one business day. After we process it, we are relying on other libraries to fill that request according to their own policies and procedures.  Lending libraries use a variety of shipping methods that take variable amounts of time. 

If we can’t fill your request, you’ll receive an email with an explanation. If you haven’t received a cancellation notice, we are still trying to complete your request. 

If you’re looking for a pdf of a journal, magazine or newspaper article, those all fall under the category of article requests.  If you’d like the physical book, DVD, score, etc., those items fall under the category of a loan request. 

In accordance with U.S. Copyright Law, ILL is limited in the amount of a publication that can be requested as an article or scan.  Below are guidelines followed by our staff:

• CONTU Guidelines include the 5/5/1 borrowing rule. This rule states that interlibrary loan requests for articles from a single journal title published fewer than five years before the date of the request cannot exceed five articles within a calendar year. Meaning, five patrons could request one article each, or one patron could request five articles, and in each case that would bring us to our limit of requests for that calendar year.
• Rule of Two guidelines state that a library may request one article, per issue, per patron of a journal title. Any additional articles from that same issue of a journal would require copyright fees/paid access. Please let us know if more than one article from a single issue is required for your research and we will determine the best method of acquiring these for you.
• Copies from books are limited to one chapter, or 10% of the work. If you require more than one chapter from a book, please request the item as a loan.

Please resubmit your request indicating the importance of these articles to your work. We will check with subject liaisons and acquisitions specialists about options to acquire the material for you.

Anyone with an active account with Ohio University Libraries can use interlibrary loan. You can place a request through Interlibrary Loan - ILLiad .

ill@ohio.edu

Due dates are determined by the lending library and vary from lender to lender.  If a borrowed item is needed longer, you can renew items through your ILL account, or email ill@ohio.edu and we will ask the lending library for a renewal on your behalf.

Articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, microfilm, scores, and films in physical formats are all regularly requested via ILL.

E-books and streaming video are not typically licensed for use in interlibrary loan.

Yes, this is possible through our Document Express service. Submit your request through your interlibrary loan account. If the article or book chapter is available at Alden, the Music and Dance Library, or the Library Annex, we will scan and deliver the pdf to your ILL account.

You are only charged if the returned item is damaged after it is picked up, or if the item is lost/not returned.  The library covers lending fees and shipping charges.

You have 30 days to access your electronically delivered document.  We encourage ILL users to download received requests as soon as possible to avoid losing access and having to place a new request.  You may keep a downloaded electronic copy of your request as long as you need.

You can login to your ILL account to check the status of your requests, or email ill@ohio.edu at any time with questions about your request.

Textbooks, new releases, rare/archival items, and reference books (dictionaries, manuals, etc.) may be difficult to find as a loan. 

While we do our best to find the resources you need, libraries may have certain materials in their collection but are non-circulating or on reserve and therefore unable to be borrowed through ILL. 

Yes, you can submit requests and receive electronic document deliveries from anywhere.  

If you are a distance learner in need of physical items as loans, and not near an Ohio University campus , many public and university libraries have ILL options for community members.  

If interlibrary loan via a library near you is not an option, please contact ill@ohio.edu to review the terms and conditions for arranging home delivery prior to submitting your loan request.

Yes. ILL is available to OU students and faculty on all our campuses. All requests are processed on the Athens Campus and distributed to your regional campus library.

Yes. Sign up to receive text notifications when your items are ready.