What is Interlibrary Loan?
Interlibrary Loan is a service that allows you to request materials from other institutions statewide, nationally, and internationally. You can request items that the University Libraries do not own as well as items that are checked out, or are declared lost or missing in OneSearch, our online catalog.
Can I use Interlibrary Loan?
We offer Interlibrary Loan services to you if you are:
• A Currently enrolled student
• A Current employee (faculty or staff)
• An Emeritus faculty
Do I have to pay for Interlibrary Loan?
In most cases, Interlibrary Loan is free to you. The University Libraries pay for shipping, handling, and some copyright fees. Interlibrary Loan absorbs copyright charges for applicable requests up to a maximum of $100.00 per person per calendar year. If you exceed your copyright maximum, you will have to pay copyright charges.
Also, some libraries may charge you a lending fee. If any charges are associated with your request, Interlibrary Loan Services staff will notify you and order it only with your permission. If you are willing to pay for the item, we will bill you via the Bursar’s Office, a departmental account or a grant account.
How long will it take me to receive my Interlibrary Loan Request?
The average turnaround time for articles is 7 days and 14 days for other materials. The length of time depends on several factors including which libraries have the items you need and shipping methods used by the lending library.
What items are difficult to obtain through Interlibrary Loan?
Sometimes, libraries will not readily lend particular types of materials, such as:
• Reference materials
• Bestsellers
• Recreational Media
• Rare books and/or fragile items
• Archival items such as genealogical sources
• Recent textbooks
If you want an item in one of these categories, please submit your request, and we will do our best to obtain the item for you.
How long can I keep my Interlibrary Loan request(s)?
The loan period for Interlibrary Loan items is determined by the library lending the materials. These periods vary from a few days to a number of weeks. Usually, you will have three to four weeks to use the materials. You can request a renewal through your ILLiad account, or you can stop by the Interlibrary Loan office (Bracken Library 123 ) Monday through Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. Also you may e-mail us at interlib@bsu.edu or telephone us at 765-285-1324.
How do I renew my Interlibrary Loan items?
If your item is renewable, you can renew it through your ILLiad Interlibrary Loan account online as follows:
1. Log in to your ILLiad account at: http://www.bsu.edu/libraries/forms/ill.php
2. Click the red "Renew" button after selecting the item.
3. Your renewal request has been sent. You will receive email notification regarding the status of your renewal. If the renewal button is grayed out, contact the Interlibrary Loan Office.
You can request a renewal through your ILLiad account, or you can stop by the Interlibrary Loan office (Bracken Library 123) Monday through Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. Also you may e-mail us at interlib@bsu.edu or telephone us at 765-285-1324. Requests for Interlibrary Loan renewals may be made up to seven days before the item is due. Renewals of Interlibrary Loan materials are strictly at the discretion of the lending library.
Who do I contact with my question(s) about Interlibrary Loan?
Interlibrary Loan staff is available to answer your questions. You can stop by the Interlibrary Loan office (Bracken Library 123) Monday through Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. Also you may e-mail us at interlib@bsu.edu or telephone us at 765-285-1324.
Where do I pick up my Interlibrary Loan materials?
Library users are notified by email when their requested items are available. Journal articles requested will be posted to a web page accessible with your BSU username and password. Hard copy items can be picked up at the Library Information Desk, Bracken Library 1st Floor lobby, during library operating hours. A valid BSU ID must be shown to sign out hard copy available items.
What is ILLiad?
ILLiad is the electronic system you use to request an item through Interlibrary Loan Services. The name ILLiad can be thought of as an acronym for Interlibrary Loan internet accessible database.
What if I forget my ILLiad password or login information?
In the event that you forget your password, you may contact Information Technology Services Help Desk at 765-285-1517.
What web browser should I use?
We recommend the most recent version Google Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge for Windows Systems, and Safari or Firefox for Mac OSX computers.
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.
2. When using a public access workstation, log off the public workstation when finished.
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.
Why does my browser say that you are sending a cookie? What's in it?
The Active Server Pages technology that we use to provide live reporting for the web sends a Session ID to be stored on your machine. You can refuse this cookie and still be able to use the Interlibrary Loan web pages and ILLiad without any problems.
Why am I not receiving my email notifications from Interlibrary Loan?
If you use Microsoft Outlook, be sure to add interlib@bsu.edu to your safe senders list to ensure delivery of email messages and articles from Interlibrary Loan Services. Electronic notifications will not be successfully delivered to full mailboxes.