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Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

This guide is intended to provide information on Interlibrary Loan, the system used to exchange items with other libraries, how it works, and when it's best to use this option.

General Information

What is Interlibrary Loan (ILL)?


Interlibrary Loan (ILL), is a service that allows Beacon College to borrow items from other libraries.  If you need something that is not in our library or county collection, then you can request it through ILL and we will try to borrow it for you.

Through ILL you can request:

  • Journal articles/book chapters
  • Books
  • CDs/DVDs
  • Dissertations

As defined by the Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States  "Interlibrary loan is the process by which a library requests material from, or supplies material to, another library. ... The purpose of interlibrary loan as defined by this code is to obtain, upon request of a library user, material not available in the user's local library."

How Does ILL Work at Beacon?

 

When a member of our college needs an item that Beacon College Library does not own, that cannot be obtained easily through the Lake County Library System, then they can request the item through interlibrary loan. 

This can be done by searching the Beacon College Databases  and selecting the "Request this item through interlibrary loan" option under an item that was found in the database search.

Example of highlighted request button in Beacon College Databases

Once a request form from the database, or the manual request form is filled out, an email of your request is sent to the Beacon Library, and then sent to other libraries who may lend their collection to us. Receiving a response to your ILL request can take a minimum of 2 days, but due to the high volume of requests some lending libraries may receive, a request may take longer to process. There is no guarantee that an item can be obtained via ILL. 

Looking for an Item Outside of the Beacon Databases?


Items outside of the database search results can be manually requested using the Interlibrary Loan Request Form. Please provide as much bibliographic information as possible to make sure the right item is acquired.