- What can I request?
- Books, and book chapters (note: if you need more than 1 chapter from a book, please borrow entire book)
- Theses and dissertations
- Musical scores
- Conference proceedings
- Microfilmed newspapers may be borrowed.
- Photocopies of journal articles may be requested in accordance with copyright law.
- Items missing from USU Libraries may be obtained after you have placed a search for the item with the Circulation Department
- Entire issues of bound journals, especially those published in the last five years
- Audiovisual material, including videos, which are lent by a limited number of libraries. Our current fill rate is 20% for these types of materials. Patrons are limited to 5 AV requests on order/or received at one time. Many libraries lend AV materials for one week only and require materials be used only in the library. Request videos using the "Request a Book" form.
- What can't I obtain through Interlibrary Loan?
- Textbooks. You can purchase these at the bookstore.
- Reference books
- Materials which are fragile, oversized, brittle, or held in other libraries' Special Collections (rare book rooms)
- Material in high demand (ask your librarian to consider buying it for the collection)
- Unpublished manuscripts and unpublished conference proceedings papers
- Books we own that are checked out. Please ask the Circulation desk to recall it for you.
- Materials for genealogical research—see your local family history or public library
- Epublications ahead of print.
- Computer games or other software.
- Psychological Tests
- How can I get faster service?
For faster service: accurate and complete bibliographic citations must be supplied, along with the source of the citation and full personal information. Please fill out one request form for each item needed. Do not submit several items on one request form.
- Are there request limits?
Currently, there is no specific limit on the number of requests you may make at one time, however we ask that you be judicious in making requests. Also, please space out your requests so you have time to use the materials you request before the due date.
- Are there copyright limits for journal articles?
We comply with national copyright guidelines which limit our office to obtaining, for all borrowers combined, only 5 articles from each journal per year and one article per issue. After the fifth article (from the last five years) we pay a copyright fee to the publisher. Some publishers charge more than $25.00 per article in copyright fees and some publishers don’t allow copying beyond the copyright guidelines limitations. Individuals who request multiple articles from one journal title may be assessed copyright fees.
- What are average delivery times?
We cannot predict the availability of material or the response time of other libraries. All Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery (ILL/DD) requests are generally processed by our office within one working day.
- Articles: Average turnaround time is 4 to 7 days.
- Books: Average turnaround time is 7 to 14 days.
- Items that have to be requested from other states or countries can take from two to eight weeks, sometimes longer.
- Why are some of my requests filled in a few days, when others take a month?
There are several factors that influence how quickly you receive materials. If the item is located geographically nearby and is owned by a large number of schools, it usually arrives quickly. Each library has some items that are not circulated through interlibrary loan. When only a few libraries own the material you are requesting, the chance of your requested material being part of the library's non-circulating collection increases. Often this means we have to petition more schools to find one willing to send your requested material. We do not discourage anyone from requesting these materials. Just remember these requests require more time to exhaust all the options.
- What are typical loan periods?
The loan period is set by the lending library. The average loan period is 2 to 4 weeks. Other libraries sometimes lend items with special conditions regarding the use of their materials such as "Library Use Only" and/or "No Copying."
Please help us maintain good relationships with other libraries by returning your Interlibrary Loan materials on time. Lending libraries reserve the right to recall their materials at any time. If a recall is issued, a new due date will be assigned and you will be responsible for any overdue fees. Overdue fines are $1.00 per day.
Renewing books: Renewals may be requested 7 to 1 days before your book is due. You may not request renewals on the same day your book is due or when it is overdue. To request a renewal, logon to your ILLiad account and select View/Renew Checked Out Items from the left side menu. From the list that comes up, select the item you wish to renew.
Click Renew Request located at the top of the record. If this link is not there, the book is not available for renewal and must be turned in on the due date on the book band. Renewal requests are forwarded to the lending library. This does not mean you will be guaranteed a renewal on your book! It only means that you have requested a renewal until a specified date. This requested date will remain in ILLiad while the real due date will remain unchanged in your circulation account. Once the lending library allows the renewal, we will contact you via email with the new due date and update both your library circulation and ILLiad accounts. If you do not receive an email from us regarding your renewal, please return the item on the original due date to avoid late fees.
Some libraries do not grant renewals. If your book band is marked “NO RENEWALS”, that item is not available for renewal.
- How do I know when and where to pick up ILL materials?
Articles: In most cases your articles received via Interlibrary Loan will be posted to the web. You will receive an e-mail. To download, you will need to logon to your ILLiad account and select Electronically Received Articles from the leftside menu. For those requests that are unable to be posted to the web, students will receive an e-mail notification stating that the article is available for pick-up at the Merrill-Cazier Library circulation desk. Faculty members will have their articles sent to their Campus Mailing address.
Books: When your book arrives, you will receive an e-mail notifying you that it is available for pick-up at the Merrill-Cazier Library Circulation Desk. You must bring your USU ID card in person to the library when picking up your materials. No Exceptions. For items which are restricted to “Library Use Only", you will be notified that your item is available at the Merrill-Cazier Library Journals and Newspapers desk on the 2nd floor. You will need to use this material in the library during regular library hours.
- How much does it cost?
We don't pass on any fees or costs to our users for borrowing books or obtaining journal articles. The process of getting materials through ILL is a costly one, and users should not request unnecessary materials. A study done by the Association of Research Libraries showed that the average cost per ILL request (materials, postage, on-line time, labor, etc.) can cost in excess of $15.00 per request! We want to be able to keep providing this service for free, so select the materials you request carefully. Individuals involved in extensive research or requesting multiple articles from one journal title may be assessed charges and copyright fees.
- How do I tell Interlibrary Loan about special circumstances?
You may use the additional notes field in the request form to provide additional information.
- What if I forgot my username or password?
You may get your username or have your password reset by: Calling Interlibrary Services at 797-2680 during our normal business hours. Have your Banner (student ID) number ready. You may also do this at the Circulation Desk in Merrill-Cazier Library, with a picture ID between 8a.m. & 5p.m. Monday - Friday. Have them call the Interlibrary Loan office from there. Another option (if you don't mind changing your username to something new) is to re-register. We will merge your new account with your old one.
- How do I check on the status of a request?
You can logon to your ILLiad account and check the status of all your requests by selecting Outstanding Requests. (These will come up by default on the main page when you log into ILLiad.) Outstanding Requests are those that you have ordered and have not come in yet.
If you believe there is a problem (i.e., item was shipped a long time ago and you have not received it) please contact our office and have your ILLiad Transaction number ready.