You can use ILL if you have currently valid borrowing privileges and you are a UW-Madison faculty (including emeritus), UW-Madison staff, or UW-Madison student. Some UW Alumni also have limited document delivery privileges.

Faculty may obtain a faculty runner card so that someone else can place requests for them.

Borrowing libraries wishing to request items from UW-Madison, see ILL Lending. For those not affiliated with UW-Madison or another institution, other options are available.

Several types of material are not generally available through Interlibrary Loan, including textbooks, items on course reserve, computer manuals, multi-media materials, video games, and most titles that would be considered personal use items or pleasure reading. These materials are often non-circulating, in-use at lending libraries due to popularity, or on course reserve at other institutions and therefore very difficult to obtain. In addition, they typically circulate for short time periods, are subject to recall, and when lost or damaged, cost a minimum of $100 in library fines. Users should not rely on Interlibrary Loan for their textbook reading or for their personal interest materials. Exceptions are made for extenuating circumstances and are reviewed by the Head of Interlibrary Loan. Please contact us for assistance.

Section 108 of the US Copyright Act stipulates that libraries may not copy more than one article per journal issue or one chapter per book. Lending libraries may limit the number of pages they’re willing and able to scan. Fifty (50) pages is a common limit.

Requests for articles that are available in full-text through UW-Madison licensed databases and electronic journals will be cancelled with instructions on how to obtain the article online. Check Article Search for online availability before submitting an ILL request.

Check your Library Account for status updates. You’ll always receive an email when your item is available. Contact ILL if you have further questions about the status of your request.

Articles and book chapters are generally available within 2 days. Books and other loans can take up to 2 weeks or longer.

Peak times of ILL activity are October/November and February/March. We make every effort to place your requests as soon as they are received, but factors such as how quickly the lending library supplies the material and how quickly shipping couriers deliver the item are out of our control.

To avoid delays, check UW-Madison’s collections for items you can get quickly before submitting requests to ILL.

Interlibrary loan materials are the property of the lending library. Returning materials to lending libraries on time is vital to ILL maintaining borrowing privileges from other institutions. When an ILL item becomes overdue, the patron’s account will be blocked from using library databases and resources and a $100 fine will be added to the patron’s account. Usually, once the item is returned, the block and fine will be removed; however, if the item is so overdue that the lending library has declared it lost and billed ILL for a replacement, then the minimum $100 fine on your library account is nonrefundable.

When items are lost or damaged, you will be responsible for the fines and/or replacement costs for the material. The minimum charge is $100. Interlibrary Loan will work directly with the lending library – do not contact lending libraries yourself. Please note that some lending libraries charge more than $100, and any costs over $100 will also be passed on to you. It can take some time for us to get the bill, but we will apply it to your Library Account once received.

Please see the library’s Fines & Holds page for more information.

Copyright law allows libraries to copy one (1) chapter of a book. If you need to view more than one chapter, please request the book as a physical loan.

If you need an accommodation for a disability, please see the Libraries’ Accessibility web page for information about services that may be available to you.

Several types of material are not generally available through Interlibrary Loan, including textbooks, items on course reserve, computer manuals, multi-media materials, video games, and most titles that would be considered personal use items or pleasure reading. These materials are often non-circulating, in-use at lending libraries due to popularity, or on course reserve at other institutions and therefore very difficult to obtain. In addition, they typically circulate for short time periods, are subject to recall, and when lost or damaged, cost a minimum of $100 in library fines. Users should not rely on Interlibrary Loan for their textbook reading or for their personal interest materials. Exceptions are made for extenuating circumstances and are reviewed by the Head of Interlibrary Loan. Please contact us for assistance.

ILL materials cannot be placed on course reserve. Please work with Course Reserves & Materials to obtain items for reserve.

If you’ve submitted a request and there seems to be a problem with it, please don’t submit a new request – contact ILL and ask for assistance.

Your Library Account will only show that your request is “Pending” until it has arrived and is “Ready for Pickup”. Please contact ILL for further information about your request.

Lending libraries determine due dates and whether an item may be renewed. If you are unable to renew the item in your Library Account, please contact ILL.

At this time, most e-book licenses do not allow e-book ILL, and technologies are not capable of facilitating the sharing of e-books between institutions. If you would like access to an e-book that is not available through the Library Search, please Request a Purchase.

Yes – please return all of the ILL flags and paperwork with your materials. ILL paperwork is vital for ensuring that materials are properly checked-in and returned to the correct lending libraries. Missing paperwork delays returns and increases the risk of mistakes and material loss.