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Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a privilege extended to Â鶹ÊÓƵ and Lamar Institute of Technology students, faculty, and staff whereby books and copies of articles not owned by the Mary and John Gray Library can be ordered from another library. Please be sure to check to see if the library owns the item before placing an interlibrary loan request. 

We will not request textbooks or textbook chapters through ILL.

When should I request an ILL?

An ILL should be requested only after you have carefully determined that a book or journal issue is not owned by the library. If an item is listed in our but is not on the shelf, you may order it through ILL after a staff member has determined that it is missing (and not checked out or misplaced). Course textbooks cannot be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

How do I request an ILL?

Login to the . First time users will be asked to change their password before using the system.

To request a book, you need the following information:

  • author's name
  • complete title of the book
  • publisher, year of publication, and edition (if available)

To request an article from a journal, newspaper or magazine, you need the following information:

  • author's name
  • complete title of the article
  • complete title of the journal (do not use abbreviations!)
  • volume and issue numbers
  • date of publication
  • page numbers for the article

How many items can I order?

There is no limit to the number of requests that you can order at one time. However, if you submit many requests at once, these will be ordered a few at a time to insure that each order receives full attention.

Is there a charge?

There is no charge for ILL.

How long does it take for an ILL to arrive?

Books—7 to 14 days for print books.  E-books are not available through ILL.

Articles—usually available electronically.  Most will arrive within 2 days and some will be available within a few hours.

PLEASE NOTE:

  materials are fulfilled solely through the lenders’ discretion.  Some materials are not available through ILL.

How will I know when my material arrives?

In general, an interlibrary loan request arrives in a week to ten days. Patrons should login to to check the status of their request. Articles and other photocopies are delivered electronically through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Service electronic delivery. Books and other loaned materials may be checked out at the Reserves desk on the 2nd floor with a valid Lamar ID.

How long may I keep ILL materials?

  • Articles and other photocopies are delivered electronically through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Service electronic delivery and will be available online for 30 days or 5 times accessing the article.  If you need the article for a longer period of time, you will need to either print your own copy or download the article to a flash/thumb drive.  We will not be able to repeatedly request the same article through ILL.
  • Books and other loaned materials may be checked out at the Circulation desk on the 1st floor of the library for as long as the lending library allows. The due date will be indicated on a slip on the book cover when you check it out. A valid Lamar ID is required.
  • Some materials may be restricted to in-library use only.

Book shipping

ILL books can be shipped to students, staff and faculty who do not live or work on campus.  This service is only available to remote students and employees.  Please note:  you must allow an additional 7-10 days for books to arrive that are being shipped.

Renewals

Due dates are set by the lending libraries.  Renewals might be available at the lending library’s discretion.  If you need a renewal, then you must request it through your ILL account prior to the due date.  You are only allowed one renewal per item.  If the renewal is denied, then you must return the book to the library as soon as possible if the book has reached its due date. 

What happens if my request is unfilled?

Unfortunately, some materials may be unavailable through interlibrary loan. Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Service will notify you by email if a request is unfilled.

A request may be unfilled for several reasons, including:

  • Libraries cannot loan material that their own patrons currently have checked out.
  • Libraries often do not loan recently published materials in order to keep those materials available for their own patrons.
  • Libraries often do not loan materials that are rare, valuable or irreplaceable.
  • Libraries often do not loan materials that are particularly fragile, prone to damage, or require special handling and/or storage conditions.

For more information about Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Service please contact the Interlibrary Loan office Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. by calling (409) 880-8987 or email ill@lamar.edu. After hours please call the Reference desk at (409) 880-7264 (Toll Free 866-375-5565) or .