Interlibrary Loans

Here’s how the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) process works:

1. You submit an ILL request through Book or Article forms on our website, or through a form in Search Everything or a different database.
2. Avila library staff receive your request and request the book or article from libraries across the United States.
3. The item is sent to the Avila library. Books are shipped to us, while articles are sent to us electronically.
4. We receive the ILL and notify you by email that your request is ready. Books can be picked up from the library circulation desk, while requested articles will be attached to the email as a PDF.

When submitting an ILL request, it’s very important to provide us with your full contact information and detailed information about the resource you need. Doing this lets us place your request faster, and reduces the need for us to contact you for clarifications.

When you submit an ILL request, we need you to submit the following information so that we can locate your library account and contact you once your ILL arrives:

• Your full name
• Your status with Avila (for example, student, faculty, etc.)
• Your email (we prefer your Avila email, but a personal email is fine)
• How much you are willing to pay for the ILL (students only)

Additionally, we need the following information about your request:

 For Articles

Quality ILL requests for articles will contain at least the following five items:

1. The ISSN of the journal containing the article.
2. The complete title of the article (no abbreviations).
3. The author or authors of the article.
4. The title of the journals or publication information for the article.

All requests for articles that include these four items have a high probability of success.

Books

Good ILL requests for books will contain at least three items:

1. The ISBN of the book.
2. The title of the book (no abbreviations)
3. The author or authors of the book

All requests for books that include these three items have a high probability of success.

The delivery time for an ILL varies. The average wait times are:

• Articles: 4-7 days
• Books, DVDs, and other print materials: 7-14 days

The time taken depends on how quickly a lending library can be found and then how quickly the mail system gets the book to Avila. Books arriving from several states away can take substantially longer than the estimated time.

The Avila Library & Learning Commons will make every effort to deliver patron requests as soon as possible.

It is completely free to submit an ILL request, and the Avila Library pays most regular costs associated with ILL requests.

If for some reason an additional charge is required to complete a request, the Learning Commons will notify you, and give you the option to pay the charges and complete the loan, or pay nothing with the chance that the requested item cannot be obtained. Patrons are never charged for ILLs without their prior agreement.

The library will pay any additional fees for faculty.

Renewals of ILL books or articles are at the discretion of the lending institution and cannot be guaranteed. All renewal requests must be done before the due date of the ILL item.

To request a renewal, email (avilaill@avila.edu) or call the ILL Department (816.501.2912).