Interlibrary Loan is a service which obtains, from other libraries, research materials that are not available in the University Library's collections.
Interlibrary Loan is offered to currently enrolled students, faculty (both current and retired), and staff of Valparaiso University. Community/ Family card holders: you do not have interlibrary loan privileges; you will not be able to log into ILLiad.
Charges for ILL loans are subsidized by the library and not passed on to the requester unless the patron loses the book, defaces it, or turns it in late, resulting in overdue charges (see next question).
The lending library sets the fines for lost and overdue books. The borrowing patron is required to pay these fees. Patrons with fines and overdue items will be blocked from the ILLiad system until these items are returned and/or paid for. Patrons with severely overdue interlibrary loan items (more than one month overdue) or unpaid fines may also be blocked from checking out any books from Valparaiso University, in addition to being blocked from using interlibrary loan. All items must be returned, and all fines paid, before any blocks will be removed. You will not receive your diploma if you have outstanding bills/fines with the library.
Although we cannot guarantee turnaround time, articles usually take about three days and loans about seven.
During semester peak times, or if the material is difficult to locate, the turnaround time may run longer. It is essential that you plan ahead to order material. If you place an order and want to see where your request is in processing, you may check the status in ILLiad.
The Lending Library determines the due date of the materials shipped to Valpo. Times vary, but the general guide is two to three weeks usage (not including a possible renewal).
Yes, although you may be able to get the book(s) more quickly by recalling them through our catalog. To recall a book that is checked out, go into that item's record within the catalog, click on the "request" button, and enter the requested information. If you decide to order a checked out item through Interlibrary Loan, please indicate this within the notes section of the request form. If Valparaiso University holdings are listed as missing, lost, lost and paid, to bind, or has been recalled with one hold, you may also order it through Interlibrary Loan. (Please indicate the reason that the book is unavailable within the notes section of the request form.)
No, the Interlibrary Loan staff will locate and obtain the material for you.
In general, no, the ILL Department may order articles from journals following the copyright laws but the journal itself may not be borrowed. In some rare circumstances libraries will agree to loan whole journals, but this does not happen very often and makes a request exponentially more difficult to fill.
No, all requests must include full citations. If you need more assistance, staff in Interlibrary Loan or at the research desk will help you.
These items are generally more difficult to acquire because they are rarer than other types of materials. Dissertations are easier to get than master's theses. Some libraries will lend a dissertation or thesis if they have more than one copy. We are usually able to borrow Proceedings or Reports. If they are lengthy, a multi volume set, or rare you may have to request photocopies of a particular section. Some of these materials may not be available through interlibrary loan.
If a dissertation is not available through interlibrary loan, you may request its purchase through your subject librarian. Purchase requests are subject to fund availability.
It is generally difficult to get ebooks from other libraries, but a few libraries lend them. We may be able to purchase the desired ebook for our collection. If you want an ebook, please note that in the notes section.
No, Interlibrary Loan cannot be used as a substitute for buying textbooks or other required course materials. Requests for textbooks available at the bookstore will be cancelled.
No, this has significant copyright cost implications. Interlibrary loan is not intended to support required readings for courses (articles or textbooks). If you have a required article reading for your course that is not in the library's collection, please contact the Valpo bookstore. The bookstore works with a vendor that will put together a coursepack (either print or digital) with those required readings fairly inexpensively. When feasible for your class, a better option may be to ensure that all assigned/suggested readings are part of the library's subscriptions.
We will place AV requests for academic purposes, although entertainment requests will be cancelled. If you request an AV item, you must include your class name/number in the notes field or the request will be cancelled. AV requests are more difficult to get and usually take longer than book or article requests.
Interlibrary Loans are governed by the lending library. We must abide by any restrictions the lending library specifies. Examples of these restrictions are:
* IN LIBRARY USE ONLY: the material must not leave the Christopher Center
* NO PHOTOCOPIES: this is usually with a dissertation and/or thesis and is a request of the author of the material
* HANDLE WITH CARE: the material is fragile, rare, or extremely valuable
* NON-RENEWABLE: the lending library will not allow renewals
Some works published pre-1900 may be obtained through ILL. The material may not come in book form but instead on microfilm or microfiche. These will be designated "IN LIBRARY USE ONLY" and may only be used in the Christopher Center. Microfilm/fiche readers with copiers are available in the library. As with any loan, you are expected to be extremely careful handling the material.
Login to Interlibrary Loan and click on "Outstanding Requests." The next screen will list all your active requests and their status.
An email will be sent to you by the ILLiad system when the material arrives. Processing of arrivals generally takes place on the day the material arrives.
All loans are held at the main Circulation Desk in the Christopher Center (2nd floor). Faculty and staff can opt to have loans mailed to their offices (please allow several extra days for this service).
ILL materials may be returned to Christopher Center's Circulation Desks any time the library is open.
This is up to the lending library. In most cases, you will be allowed one renewal request per loan (unless the lending library has specified otherwise). To request a renewal, log into ILLiad and click on "Checked out Items" under "View" and select the transaction number for item you want to renew. At the top of the next screen, you'll see "Renew Request" in red. Click on this, and your request will be placed and a temporary due date will appear at the top of the screen. This temporary due date is a guess and will probably change. This is because once we have your renewal request it is forwarded onto the lending library, and they send back a new due date, which probably will not be the same as ILLiad's guesstimated due date. You will receive an email letting you know whether your renewal has gone through.
The Interlibrary Loan Office is located on the 1st floor of the Christopher Center (room 175) in a staff-only area. If you would like to visit the office, you may either ask for assistance at the Circulation desk or call the ILL office at (219) 464-5363 (during normal office hours). Interlibrary Loan Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00am - noon and 1:00-4:30pm.
The proxy borrower account is the ONLY authorized way for one patron to borrow items on behalf of another patron. If a proxy borrower chooses NOT to set up an authorized account and instead borrows items on their own account to give to the faculty member, that proxy borrower is responsible for all charges incurred (lost books, overdue fees, etc.).
Read more on our proxy borrower account and a registration form page.
ILLiad is the electronic system you use to request an item through Interlibrary Loan. The name ILLiad can be thought of as an acronym for InterLibrary Loan internet accessible database.
Your username and password allows us to give you secure access to information about your interlibrary loan requests.
Your username is your Valpo username (also called LDAP username) and your password is your Valpo password. No one but you will know your password, not even the library staff.
Your password for Interlibrary Loan is the same as your password for DataVU and Blackboard. If you cannot remember your campus username or password, please contact the IT helpdesk at 464-5678. The Interlibrary Loan office does not have the ability to reset your password.
No. You may be charged replacement value plus processing for books that are damaged (determined by lending library).
Our phone number is (219) 464-5363 and our email address is ill@valpo.edu .