Tech Check Research Guide:
How the Interlibrary Loan Service Works
Boston University Law School faculty, students, and staff can request items that are not available at a library on the Charles River campus through the Pappas Library’s Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service. The journals are among the heaviest users of this service.
The Basics
ILL transactions are conducted between libraries, not individuals. Although you may be able to visit another library to consult materials, if you wish to borrow an item, you must submit an ILL request to the Pappas Law Library. The item will be sent to the Law Library and cannot be picked up in person at the other library.
Submitting Requests
ILL departments often handle a high volume of requests. The lending library’s staff usually will not conduct research to correct an inaccurate citation or to determine where a publication may be found. Without complete and accurate information, an ILL request is likely to be unsuccessful. For this reason, before submitting an ILL request, it is important to verify the citation using indexes (such as the Index to Legal Periodicals and Books) or a database of library holdings (such as Worldcat).
ILL is not appropriate for materials that are available to users of any BU library on the Charles River campus. You can visit other BU libraries and borrow books or make photocopies of items available there. If an item owned by a BU library is checked out, the item may be recalled. (ILL requests can be submitted for books and copies of articles from journals held by the BU Medical Library.)
The Tech Check Research Guide and related pages identify some common reasons why ILL requests are unsuccessful.
The Process
In an ILL transaction, after receiving a patron request, the BU Law Library attempts to borrow the item (or to obtain a photocopy of the article or other document) from another library. The lending library could be a law school or other academic library, a public library, or a corporate or other private library.
Participating libraries join networks that share databases reflecting the holdings of many other libraries. The libraries agree to act under common rules. These include an agreement to request only items that are not otherwise available to the requesting library and to return borrowed items by the due dates designated by the lending library.
Generally, a request is submitted to a “string” of several libraries. A new request goes to the first library in the string, and that library has several days to answer “yes” or “no” to the request. If “yes,” the lending library will process the request and send the item (or photocopy of an article or chapter) to the requesting library. If the library answers “no,” the request goes to the next library in the string. In some cases, all of the libraries in the string may answer “no,” and the request is unsuccessful.
Processing Time
It is impossible to guarantee the turnaround time for a successful ILL transaction. Variables include the number of lending libraries which consider the request and the time necessary to ship the item to the requesting library. For books and articles in journals that are owned by many libraries, often the item can be provided within a week to 10 days. On other transactions, it may take two weeks or more. Some items may require more than one attempt, and others may not be available through ILL.
Returning or Renewing
Once an item has been supplied through ILL, the item must be returned to the lending library by the due date indicated. If the borrowing person (or journal) would like to request a renewal, that request needs to be made on or before the due date. If the lending library denies the renewal request, the item must be returned to our ILL staff by the due date.
Contact Information
For questions about this process, or the status of a request, please send an e-mail to the ILL department or ask for assistance at the circulation desk.
Last Updated: February 2009