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Request Sent means that ILL staff has forwarded your request to potential lenders and is waiting for a response.
Curious about the rest of our request statuses? Check out the Request Status Definitions document for more information.
For additional information, please see our FAQ.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a question about the service ILL provides, simply click on a topic below. If you don't see an answer to your question, please contact the ILL office at (734)764-8584, or via email to Interlibrary.Loan@umich.edu.
| Placing a request | I've made my request . . . |
| I have an article or book, how do I . . . | Problems
with my account or request
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Am I eligible to use Interlibrary Loan?
- University Library Interlibrary Loan (ILL) services are available to faculty, staff, and students at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and to faculty at University of Michigan-Dearborn.
- Patrons from the Law School are served by a separate Interlibrary Loan office at the Law Library.
- Taubman Medical Library ILL serves people affiliated with the
- Schools of Medicine,
- Dentistry,
- Pharmacy,
- Nursing,
- Public Health,
- and the UM Hospitals and Clinics.
- Non-UM affiliates may request interlibrary loan of materials through MITS (Michigan Information Transfer Source).
- Ann Arbor residents may use Interlibrary Loan at the Ann Arbor District Library.
- Interlibrary Loan services are not available to
- visiting scholars (unless invited by a UM-Ann Arbor department)
- holders of any type of guest card
- alumni
You may submit your request through the electronic resources listed below:
Please include as much bibliographic information as possible. A complete article citation should include:
- Journal Name
- Article Title
- Author
- Volume and Issue Number
- Year
- Page Numbers
A complete book citation should include:
- Title
- Author/editor
- Year
- Publisher
ILLiad is the electronic system used to request items through Interlibrary Loan. It also tracks the status of requests, and allows you to request renewals.
UM dissertations since 1930 are listed in MIRLYN and are available at any UM Library Circulation desk. Non-UM dissertations are available through normal Interlibrary Loan borrowing procedures. Please note that most institutions loan only microfilm copies for a limited time period. Please refer to the following information for more details on other ways for acquiring dissertations.
Can I request something besides books or articles?
Books, materials reproduced in microform (microfilm/microfiche) and older volumes of periodicals can usually be borrowed. Photocopies of periodicals or of short sections of books can generally be obtained as well, as long as such requests are in accordance with copyright laws. Items missing from the University Libraries can also be obtained.
Please inform ILL at the time you request an item that is listed as missing or lost. If you have questions about whether an item is owned by a UM library, please refer to the page on how to read Mirlyn Holdings Records.
While some materials can be hard to obtain, go ahead and make a request. Whether we can get an item often depends on the policies of the lending library. Materials that are difficult to obtained include:
- Periodical volumes less than five years old (try requesting individual articles)
- Reference books (try requesting individual entries)
- Audio/visual materials
- Bulky or fragile items
- Extremely old books
- Books on reserve, including textbooks
- Rare or valuable material such as manuscripts
The University of Michigan also provides free access to other "virtual libraries" through consortial arrangements with partner libraries. Please refer to the Virtual Libraries section of the ILL website for details.
What if a book is checked out or missing?
If a book owned by the University Library is checked out or missing, you may submit an ILL request. Please include the reason for the request in the notes field (please note: the field is only 256 characters long).
There is currently no cost to you for normal Interlibrary Loan services. If special circumstances exist, we will contact you to confirm that you are willing to pay any special costs before placing an order for your requested item.
How can I request books and articles for my professor?
You will need to set up an Interlibrary Loan proxy account. Even if you have a proxy account for the University of Michigan Library, you will need a separate account for Interlibrary Loan. A proxy account is a user account that allows one person to check out books and articles for another person. In this way, for example, a research assistant is able to place requests for a faculty member, but the responsibility for the items remains with the faculty as though they had checked the item out themselves. If you are interested in setting up a proxy account, please contact Interlibrary Loan at interlibrary.loan@umich.edu.
From what library will I get my material?
ILL maintains special reciprocal relationships with many schools and lending institutions, designed to provide the materials you need as soon as possible. Because items arrive more quickly from these preferred lenders, ILL will use them first whenever possible.
When one of these partner institutions is not an option, ILL tries the next best choice based on a library’s location and lending policies. Please note that not every school that owns a particular item can circulate it immediately. If your materials did not come from the library you expected, we most likely had a reciprocal option to use or the specific lender was unable to supply your item.
How will I know my material has arrived?
You will receive an email from ILL letting you know that your material has arrived.
How will I receive my material?
Loans may be received at the following locations:
- ILL office (Hatcher Graduate Library, room 106)
- Art, Architecture & Engineering Library Circulation Desk
- Music Library
- Undergraduate Library
- Campus Delivery: delivery to non-residential campus addresses, gratis 7-FAST.
The delivery/pick-up location of your material will be included in the email you receive from ILL letting you know the material has arrived. If you want to change your delivery preference, go to http://ill.lib.umich.edu/ and select User Information.
Articles and other material are received as follows:
- Copies are delivered electronically through ILLiad.
- Microfilm/microfiche are held in the Serials Microform room on the second floor of the Hatcher Graduate Library. These items are non-circulating and can be viewed on the reader/printers available in the room.
How soon will my material arrive?
- 16% of copies are received on the same day the request was made.
- 42% of copies are received by the day after.
- 54% of copies are received within two days.
- 50% of loans are received within a week.
The time it takes for a request to arrive depends on many factors, such as:
- Age of the item
- Rarity
- Condition of item
- Item may be checked out
- Item may be non-circulating
- Item may be missing
Our turn around times are summarized in the following charts.
Please see the section in this FAQ titled, "How do I place a request?" for more detail.
How do I check on the status of my request?
At the ILLiad Main Menu click on "Pending Requests" to see the requests you've placed as well as their current status.
You may cancel any request you've submitted by logging into ILLiad and performing the following steps:
- At the Main Menu, select the Pending Requests option
- From the Pending Requests screen, locate the appropriate request and select it by clicking the button in the first column
- On the Detailed Information screen for that request, simply click the CANCEL button located in the upper-right corner of the screen
Please note: If you erroneously cancel a request, you may resubmit it by selecting the Cancelled Requests option available from the Main Menu.
What do the ILLiad Request Statuses mean?
ILLiad uses Request Statuses to inform patrons of the stage their request is in as it moves through the request process. If you're curious as to what a specific Request Status means, please view the Request Status Definitions document for more information.
Where can I pick up my microform?
- If your delivery location is AAEL, you can pick up your microform at the AAEL circulation desk as you would any other ILL item.
- If you have Campus Delivery or Hatcher pickup, you can pick up your microform at the Serials Desk on the 2nd floor of Hatcher South.
How long will my article be available?
Electronically delivered articles are available for 14 days after they are received or for 5 viewings, whichever comes first. After that they are automatically deleted from our system and will need to be re-requested.
How long can I keep my material?
The loan period for item(s) borrowed through ILL is determined by the lending library and is usually 2-4 weeks. The item due date and instructions on where to return the item are listed on the book band (see below for information on returning items).
Place a renewal request through ILLiad by selecting the "Checked Out Items" button. Items may only be renewed one time, so you'll need to plan accordingly. Renewal requests can be made only 1-5 days prior to the original due date. If you are unable to renew your item during this time, please contact the Interlibrary Loan office.
Please note: Depending on restrictions set by the lending institution for the item, renewals may not be granted. Renewals are granted by the lending library.
Are there any restrictions on use?
Lending libraries determine conditions regarding the use of their materials. Limitations such as "Library Use Only" and "Copying Not Permitted" must be honored by the borrowing institution.
Where do I return my material?
Materials must be returned directly to Hatcher Graduate Library Room 106, Undergraduate Library, Music Library, or AAEL. If an item is returned to another location, you will be held responsible until the book reaches our office. Late return of materials jeopardizes the ability of the University of Michigan to borrow from libraries in the future. Also, please leave the bookbands on the items so they are clearly marked as ILL materials. Do not use campus mail to return ILL materials.
Why should I talk to a Reference Librarian?
Interlibrary Loan will try everything it can to fill your request. Despite this, we are not always able to find a lender for extremely rare items, or items with complicated citations. When this happens, we suggest that you consult a reference librarian. Reference Librarians have additional training and resources needed for specialized searching. In cases where expertise is required, consulting a reference librarian greatly increases your chances of getting the materials you want.
Why isn't my microform checked out to me?
Microform is always library use only. Microform that is available at the Hatcher Serials Desk is not checked out directly to you. It will always stay in your "Pending Requests" section of the ILLiad website, at the status "Micoform at Serials Svcs - Call to Renew." Microform may be renewed by phone, email, or in person. Renewal via ILLiad is not available for microform, and you will never receive overdue notices for this format. You will receive courtesy notices to allow you a chance to renew, however.
What can I do if I forgot my proxy account password?
If you have forgotten your proxy account password you can go to the University of Michigan Authentication Page and select Reset Your Friend Password at the lower right of the screen.
If you do not return or renew your ILL book loan promptly, ILLiad will place a block on your Interlibrary Loan privileges. You will be prevented from requesting both loans and copies. You will also not be able to place renewal requests, or view the status of your requests. Once the overdue loan has been returned, your privileges will be reinstated.
Why can't I find my requests under my account in Mirlyn?
Unfortunately, MIRLYN (the University Library catalogue) and ILLiad (the interlibrary loan system) do not currently share information. You have an account on MIRLYN for borrowing University-owned books, and a separate account on ILLiad to request ILL books, so you have to check each account separately.
Why did I get a book if I requested an article? A microfilm instead of a book?
The format of what you receive depends on both the nature of your request and the policies of the lending institution. Libraries will occasionally send entire volumes if an article exceeds copy limits or copyright limitations.
Similarly, libraries will sometimes only allow us to borrow items on microform. This often includes the following:
- Dissertations
- Periodicals
- Older monographs
Interlibrary Loan will try to obtain items in the format requested by the patron, but what we receive ultimately depends on the availability of the item and the policies of the lending library.
Why did ILL staff cancel my request?
There are several reasons why ILL staff may have cancelled your request. The most common is that the material you need is currently available at the University and therefore not eligible for Interlibrary Loan. When reading a Mirlyn holdings record, please remember that individually listed items do not reflect complete holdings. It is always a good idea to check Mirlyn before placing a request.
Otherwise, your items may be non-circulating, not found as cited, in use at all available lenders, too new to loan, etc. We will send you an e-mail explaining our reason whenever we have to cancel a request. Please feel free to ask us whenever you have questions.
Your password is stored in the Library Authentication system and can only be changed there. On the authentication screen you saw when accessing ILLiad you can select the "Account Setup Form". From there, you will be able to change your password.
Why don't I see all of my older requests in my Request History?
ILL policy is to keep information only on last year's requests, plus the current year. ILLiad was implemented in March 2003. If you need information on requests prior to this date, please contact the Interlibrary Loan office at Interlibrary.Loan@umich.edu
Who do I contact if I have questions/problems with ILLiad?
Should you have any questions or comments relating to ILLiad, please contact us using one of the following methods:
Email to Interlibrary.Loan@umich.edu
Phone: 734-764-8584
In person: 106 HHGL-N, Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 7:00pm
