How do I locate an item?: Interlibrary Loans

Before you submit an ILL request...

• Have you checked our Library Catalog
  
• Have you checked LINKplus
• Have you asked a librarian about the availablilty of the item in our collection?
• Do you have an up-to-date library account and an Alliant OneCard ID?
• View the online tutorial, "How to find a known journal article from a citation".

Did you know...

• Please fill out form completely.Incomplete or incorrection information may cause a delay in your request being processed?
• Alliant Library also owns journals in paper format? Check the to see if journal articles are available at your home library. Library Catalog
• Typical interlibrary loans are free, but special requests may have a charge?
• Requested items usually take 7-28 days to arrive? It depends on the location of the loaning library and the number of libraries a request must be sent to so it will be filled.
• The library cannot request e-journals and e-books available at other libraries because of licensing agreements?

You have a choice of the following requests:

• Book - The borrower is responsible for returning materials on time and paying for damaged or lost materials, and any overdue fines.
• Article - Place a request only if the journal article is not available online in one of the journal packages or on one of the research databases. If you need assistance with checking the availability of a journal please call the reference department of your home library or email library@alliant.edu. Please be aware of Federal copyright laws. Library will only be allowed to request one article from a particular journal so select the most important one.
• Chapter or portion of a book - Check the library catalog and LINKplus Catalog first to see if the entire book is available. If not available, the library may request the entire book instead of one chapter as it is most cost effective. You will be responsible for making your own photo copies.
• Proceedings of a conference -Conference proceedings are difficult to get through interlibrary loans. Generally you need to contact the individual or organization directly.
• Thesis or Dissertation - Before submitting a request for a dissertation, please check ProQuest Dissertation and Theses. Most dissertations published since 1997 are available full-text (PDF format). Recently published dissertations may not be available for loan or available on the ProQuest database. Usually it takes about 3-6 months from submission to appear in the database.
• Purchase Suggestions - If you aren't in a big hurry, you can make purchase suggestions for recently published, non-textbook titles that you think your home library should own. Titles should support the curriculum. Please read our collection development policy for more information. Approved purchase suggestions can take 2-6 weeks to arrive in the library.