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Frequently Asked Interlibrary Loan Questions

General Interlibrary Loan Questions

1. What is Interlibrary Loan?
2. Who is eligible to use Interlibrary Loan?
3. What materials can be obtained through Interlibrary Loan?
4. How do I submit an Interlibrary Loan request?
5. What if I am an RA?
6. What if I am on a journal?
7. How long does it take to fill an Interlibrary Loan request?
8. How can I check on the status of an Interlibrary Loan request?
9. How will Interlibrary Loan notify me when the materials arrive?
10. Where do I pick up my materials?
11. How long can I keep books borrowed through Interlibrary Loan?
12. What if I lose or damage books obtained through Interlibrary Loan?
13. Can I renew Interlibrary Loan materials?
14. Who do I contact if I have other problems or questions?

ILLiad Questions

1. What is ILLiad?
2. How is ILLiad better than traditional ILL systems?
3. Are there any disadvantages to the electronic system?
4. Why do I need a username and password to use ILLiad?
5. What if I forget my password?
6. What Web browser should I use?
7. Is security a problem if I use a public workstation?
8. Why don't I see all my older requests when I look at my request history?
9. What is electronic or web article delivery?
10. Who do I contact if I have problems with or questions about ILLiad?
11. Why does my browser say that you're sending a cookie? What's in it?

General Interlibrary Loan Questions

What is Interlibrary Loan?
Interlibrary Loan provides access to library materials throughout the world by locating and borrowing materials not owned by the Law Library on behalf of eligible patrons.

Who is eligible to use Interlibrary Loan?
ILL is available to the faculty, students, staff and visiting scholars who have an active circulation account with the Law Library. ILL is not available to members of the Public Patron Program. Public Patrons must obtain ILL service through their law firms, government agencies or organizations.

What materials can be obtained through Interlibrary Loan?
ILL provides access to most books, journal articles, microfilms, conference proceedings, and other research materials not owned by the Law Library. Titles owned by the Law Library but are checked out, at the bindery or declared lost or missing can be requested through ILL.

Items held on reserve (i.e. Reading Room, Course, and Reserve Collection) are not eligible for ILL borrowing regardless of the fact that they do not circulate or have short loan periods. If you need to borrow a reserved book to bring to your class, please consult the Head of Circulation Desk (202-662-9131) or Head of Access Services (202-662-9155). ILL does not provide access to required course materials. These materials can be purchased at or rented through the campus bookstore and may be available at the Law Library. Study aids are also not eligible for ILL borrowing. Please use the study aids listed in the Law Library's Treatise Finder.

Book titles held at main campus libraries that are listed as being available for circulation should be requested as InterCampus Book Loan through the main campus catalog, George.

Please note that the following types of materials are not loaned by libraries and therefore not obtainable through ILL: entire issues or volumes of journals, original newspapers, reference books, rare or special collection books, books published 100 or more years ago.

Unless necessary to complete an assigned course work, paper, note writing, source collection for a journal, scholarly research or work for hire at the Law Center, ILL does not provide access to the following types of materials:

• audio recordings (including audio books, music, radio broadcasts) in any format;
• visual recordings (including theatrical movies, television programs, stage performances, self-help or instructional recordings) in any format;
• language learning or skills development series in any format (Rosetta Stone subscription is available through the Law Library);
• graphic novels or manga magazines.

If you want any of the above mentioned types of materials as study or classroom aids, then please submit a purchase suggestion. If you want any of the above types of materials for purely personal or leisure purposes, then please obtain them through your public library.

Patrons are encouraged to submit a purchase request to obtain:

• films to be screened on campus
• reserved books that are consistently unavailable for use
• law-oriented materials that are too new to borrow via ILL or not loaned by other libraries due to format or type (e.g. looseleaf, legal reference titles, audio books on law, etc.).

ILL requests can be submitted for books (but not graphic novels) to be used for personal or leisure purposes. However, unlike requests for materials related directly to your Law Center work, requests for recreational reading will not be treated with priority and will be submitted only to those libraries that do not charge for ILL lending. Also, recreational reading requests will be processed through no more than five rounds of ILL requesting (i.e. twenty-five potential lenders). After the fifth round, if a copy of the book cannot be borrowed, the request will be cancelled. For leisure reading, please use the DC Public Library, its physical as well as its downloadable media collections. Anyone who resides, works, pays property taxes or attends school in DC is eligible to register as a DC Public Library patron.

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How do I submit an Interlibrary Loan request?
Before you complete an ILL request form, search for the title (book or journal) using the Law Library's online catalog, GULLiver. If you need an article but the journal is not owned by the Law Library, then submit an ILL request for each article you need. If you need to borrow a book and find that the title is unavailable, then on GULLiver click on 'Find at Main Campus' link on the right hand side of the catalog page. The same book title search will be performed on George, the main campus library catalog. If a copy of the book is available for circulation at main campus, then request the title as a InterCampus Book Loan to have it delivered to the Law Center. If a copy is not available there either, then complete an ILL request form for each book you need. You may submit as many requests as needed but please be aware that during busy times in the ILL borrowing office, a maximum of six ILL requests will be processed per patron, per day. ILL requests forms are only available electronically through ILLiad.

To request an item via ILL, click here.

What if I am an RA?
Follow the Special Instructions for RAs & Journal Staff.

What if I am on a journal?
Check with your editor to find out the preferred method of submitting an ILL request. Some journals prefer all ILL materials to be ordered using a journal login, and some prefer individual orders. You are responsible for any ILL materials borrowed in your name for the journal. See Special Instructions for RAs & Journal Staff.

How long does it take to fill an Interlibrary Loan request?
On average it takes approximately two weeks to fill a loan request, though it can take as little as three days or as long as a month or more to receive materials, depending on the location and the availability of the item at other libraries. For books, whenever possible, we will try to locate the item at a local library for faster turnaround time. It could be faster to obtain a copy of pages within a monograph than obtaining a loan. If you have a citation in a book that can be copied, then submit your request as a photocopy. For photocopy requests, whenever possible, we will have the article transmitted electronically to eliminate the delay of mail service.

Patrons are strongly encouraged to submit requests well in advance of deadlines since some items are difficult or impossible to obtain through ILL.

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How can I check on the status of an Interlibrary Loan request?
You can check the status of your request through ILLiad from any computer with Internet access by signing on to ILLiad through your account. To track requests that have not yet been filled, click on "Outstanding Requests"; for a list of Interlibrary Loan materials that you have checked out, click on "Checked Out Items"; and to view a list of your completed Interlibrary Loan requests, click on the "History Requests."

How will Interlibrary Loan notify me when the materials arrive?
You will receive an e-mail message notifying you when materials arrive.

Where do I pick up my materials?
Students:

• Books may be picked up at the Williams Library's Circulation Desk.
• Photocopies will primarily be delivered electronically (either deposited electronically into your ILLiad account or emailed to your Georgetown Law account as an attachment) or be held at the Williams' Circulation Desk for your retrieval. Be sure to read the text of the article arrival email notification to determine delivery method for that copy.

Journals (submissions made through a journal office ILLiad account) :

• Books will be delivered into your journal mailbox located behind the Office of Journals Administration reception desk for pick-up by you or another journal staff; they will not be held at Williams' Circulation Desk nor delivered into your journal office.
• Photocopy delivery method depends on the shipping method of the supplying library. Copies maybe deposited electronically into your ILLiad account or hand-delivered as hardcopy into your journal mailbox. Be sure to read the text of the article arrival email notification to determine delivery method for that copy.

Faculty: Photocopies and books will be delivered to your office or to your assistant by Law Faculty Services.

Staff:

• Photocopies and books ordered for Faculty use (if faculty name is provided) will be delivered to the Faculty by Law Faculty Services.
• Books ordered for your own use will be held at the Williams Library's Circulation Desk for your retrieval.
• Photocopies for your own use maybe deposited electronically into your ILLiad account, emailed to your Law account as an attachment or held at the Williams' Circulation Desk for your retrieval. Be sure to read the text of the article arrival email notification to determine delivery method for that copy.

How long can I keep books borrowed through Interlibrary Loan?
There is no standard due date for ILL items as the library that lends the material specifies the date. On average, items may be kept for three weeks. The due date will be printed on the book's ILL label. Patrons are responsible for the safe and on-time return of items borrowed through ILL. Failure to return items obtained through ILL in a prompt manner will result in the loss of your ILL privileges and may negatively impact our ability to obtain materials from the lending library in the future.

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What if I lose or damage books obtained through Interlibrary Loan?
If the Law Library is billed for an overdue, lost or damaged book, charges will be passed on to you. Your student account will be billed. Once your student account is charged the invoiced amount, credits or refunds are not provided. Libraries loan to us as a courtesy and expect that their books will be returned on time and in good condition.

Can I renew Interlibrary Loan materials?
You may request a renewal of an ILL item through the ILLiad service within five days in advance of the due date or you may request a renewal via email at law-ill@law.georgetown.edu. You will receive an email response informing you whether or not the renewal request has been granted by the lender. Please note that the lending library is responsible for the decision as to whether an item can be renewed and for how long. Renewals are generally not granted for overdue materials.

Who do I contact if I have other questions?
Call the Interlibrary Loan office at (202) 662-9154 or e-mail your question to law-ill@law.georgetown.edu. The Interlibrary Loan fax number is (202) 662-9202. You may also direct questions to the Reference Desk at (202) 662-9140.

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ILLiad Questions

What is ILLiad?
ILLiad is the electronic system you use to request an item through Interlibrary Loan. The name ILLiad can be thought of as an acronym for InterLibrary Loan internet accessible database.

How is ILLiad better than traditional ILL systems?

1. You will find it easier to submit your interlibrary loan requests. With ILLiad, you enter your name, address, and other personal information into the system only once, at the time of your first request.
2. Your request will be handled more rapidly and accurately as problems relating to misinterpretation of hand-written requests are eliminated.
3. You can get many of your photocopies more quickly through Electronic Delivery.
4. You can get information about the status of your request through the Web at any time from any location without having to call the ILL Department.
5. Library personnel are able to serve you better because all data about your request and its handling is stored in a searchable database. We are able to respond quickly to inquiries about your request. We are also able to gather statistical information about the performance of the libraries that lend to us, enabling us to make better decisions when choosing a lender to supply an item.

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Are there any disadvantages to the electronic system?
Some people might find it troublesome to have to log into ILLiad using a username and password. We believe this is less trouble than traditional paper and electronic systems which require you to enter your personal information with each new request.

Why do I need a username and password to use ILLiad?
Your username and password allows us to give you secure access to information about your interlibrary loan requests. We can also enable you to edit your personal information such as your address or phone number.

Your username can be anything you like, such as your name, abbreviations, or an alphanumeric code. Your password also can be anything you like. We recommend that you follow good security practice and choose a password that is different from those you use to access other systems. However, no one but you will know your password, not even the library staff. The password you set is stored in an encrypted file.

What if I forget my password?
In the event that you forget your password, please contact the Interlibrary Loan Office at (202) 662-9154 or by email at law-ill@law.georgetown.edu. We can reset your password allowing you access to ILLiad. The next time you log into ILLiad, you should change your password again.

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What Web browser should I use?
You need a Web browser that can handle forms, tables, and, preferably Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).  We recommend the current versions of either Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox.

Is security a problem if I use a public workstation?
Yes. Web browsers cache information and create a history file on the local workstation. This allows a subsequent user of the workstation to access the system under your name using the browser's Back button to recall a page from the cache, or by finding a page with your personal information in the browser's history file. If you are concerned about the security of your interlibrary loan requests, you can take the following steps:

1. Access ILLiad only from your personal computer or an otherwise secure workstation; or
   
2. When using a public workstation:
   • Delete from the history file those pages that contain your personal information.
   • Exit from the Web browser before you leave the workstation. This prevents the Back button from accessing the pages you were using.

Why don't I see all my older requests when I look at my request history?
From time to time we purge older records from ILLiad.  Our policy is to keep requests online for several years in order to comply with record keeping requirements of the copyright law.

What is electronic or web article delivery?
Whenever possible, through ILLiad, we are able to offer you  the option of electronic delivery of articles in PDF (Adobe's Portable Document Format) via the web.  You can read more about web article delivery on the ILLiad Web Article Delivery Information page.

Who do I contact if I have problems with or questions about ILLiad?
System Problems or InterLibrary Loan Questions:  InterLibrary Loan office at (202) 662-9154 or email to law-ill@law.georgetown.edu.

Why does my browser say that you're sending a cookie? What's in it?
The technology that we use sends a Session ID to be stored on your machine. You can refuse this cookie and still be able to use ILLiad without any problems.

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