More details about Interlibrary Loan
It's nearly impossible for a library to anticipate, purchase and store all of the materials that their patrons want and need. To get around this giant problem, libraries developed a system where they would cooperate with each other and provide loans and photocopies when asked. Most libraries have an interlibrary loan system, no matter the library type or size.
McConnell Library has an interlibrary loan staff of 1.5 staff members and two student assistants. We use an all electronic system called ILLiad to generate and manage our requests and we incorporate another electronic system, ARIEL, to quickly send and receive articles to and from other libraries. Fast Fact: in the 2003-04 fiscal year, our interlibrary loan office handled 21,968 requests.
Not only does Radford University borrow materials from other libraries to fill our patron needs, we also lend materials to other libraries to fill their patron needs. Doing this increases our reputation in the state and across the nation, and it also helps to fund the borrowing part of our system. Any of RU's library material that we lend may be recalled.
As part of the registration process, we have an FAQ page that is also available for you to read. If you still have questions, or would just like to come in and speak to us, the Interlibrary Loan office is located in room 349 of McConnell Library. Our hours are 8-5 Monday through Friday (7:30-4:00 Monday through Friday in the summer). And you are free to call: 831-6126 or email us: ill@radford.edu at any time for assistance.
Who is eligible for interlibrary loan service at Radford University?
Faculty and staff, and any currently enrolled undergraduate or graduate student at RU may use the Interlibrary Loan service. This includes extended campus students.
How much does it cost?
At this time, Radford University pays all of the charges for this service, which, according to current research, may be as much as $30 per transaction- more if a lending library charges to loan materials. With that in mind, we ask that you think before you order something and if you don't need an item, please don't order it.
The obvious exception to this policy is that if you get a book or other returnable item and it gets lost or damaged, there will be repair or replacement charges depending on the wishes of the library that owns the item- these charges will have to be paid for by the person who requested the item and not by Radford University.
How do I request materials?
To use the interlibrary loan system, you must first register yourself in the ILLiad system. On the library homepage you will see a link marked Interlibrary Loan. Login to the system with your RU username and password, then fill in the registration information. Once you've registered, you only need to log into the system and use one of the forms there to tell us what you need.
In some cases, you can request materials directly from within the electronic databases youaer searching. The important data is automatically transferred to the request form, and you simply have to login to submit the request.
What types of library materials can I get?
The easiest and most consistent things to get are books and copies of articles. Many libraries will also loan theses, dissertations and microfilm reels. Some libraries will loan more sensitive types of material, like video, dvd, and cds, but these things are not generally easy to obtain. If you need these materials, order them on interlibrary loan, but make other plans as well because chances are these items either will not be obtainable or they will take a long time to obtain.
Do I have to know where an item is before I request it?
No, and even if you do know where an item is located and provide that information, we may or may not order it from that library. Radford University is a member of several national and statewide groups that participate in free lending and so we will obviously use those locations first to keep our costs at a reasonable level. Within these cooperative groups, there are many rules about who to borrow from first and when to borrow from doctoral granting universities and when not to. For these and other reasons, you do not need to figure out who owns the item you need to borrow, you just need to fill out the interlibrary loan request form and leave the rest up to us. If we have problems or questions, we'll contact you about them.
OK, I've requested an item, when is it going to get here?
The honest answer is that we don't exactly know. Once we request an item, the speed of it's arrival is completely out of our hands. Factors like staffing, shelving, and shipping can cause an item to arrive here anywhere from a day to a few weeks. We do our best to quickly order what you request, but the time of arrival is out of our control.
However, the ILLiad system allows you to track what WE are doing with your request. If you log into your ILLiad account, you can click on a link marked "View/Modify Outstanding Requests". This shows you a list of active requests in the system. If you click on the transaction number of the one you are wondering about, you will see a timeline of what has happened with the request and when it happened.
You will see a list of the different steps of a request: when
you submitted it, when our staff looked at it and when it was sent.
If you have a question about what these terms mean, don't hesitate
to contact us or see our list of explanations.
Can I renew a book that I get through interlibrary loan?
Some books can be renewed, some books cannot. In general if a book is not renewable, it will say "No Renewals" on a sticker we put on the cover of the book. If the item you have does not say no renewals, then you can log into your ILLiad account and click on the link that says "View/Renew Checked Out Items".
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