How long does it take to retrieve an ILL request?
It depends. Journal articles can be electronically disseminated within a few days. (Occasionally, articles are electronically received on the day they were ordered.) Books, dissertations, and videos take considerably longer to receive, usually seven to fourteen business days. There are many factors that influence the time a request is submitted to the time it arrives, including the number of requests the lending library has received from other libraries, shipping method, lack of access to electronic tools – a fax machine, for example – that expedite the delivery of journal articles, and the number of experience workers it can devote to ILL requests. For these reasons, it is important for students to begin long-term class assignments early in the semester. The longer they procrastinate, the harder it is to receive materials through ILL before assignment due dates.
Related Questions
- After creating an ILL account with unique Username and Password, fill out the appropriate electronic request. To order a journal article or a book from a database, click on the ILL icon, review and approve it, and you will receive an email when your article arrives Find a book in the library?
- How do I request an item through Interlibrary Loan (ILL)?
- How is an ILL different from a request?
