FAQS: Interlibrary Loan


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1. Are there any local reciprocal borrowing privileges available to University of Miami faculty and graduate students?

Yes, the University of Miami has special arrangements with the Florida International University [FIU] Library to allow University of Miami full-time faculty and doctoral candidates reciprocal access and borrowing privileges. Please obtain a letter of introduction/authorization by applying in person at the Richter Library 1st Floor Circulation Desk. Present your authorization letter, as well as your UM CaneID Card, to the FIU University Park Library Circulation Desk.

Please note this program provides access to collections and restricted borrowing privileges, but does not grant access to licensed electronic resources.

2. Are there charges for Interlibrary Loan service?

No, Interlibrary Loan service is offered free of charge to all University of Miami faculty, staff, and students.

3. Can I renew an item?

The lending library sets the loan, renewal, and use policies for borrowed item. It has the right to deny a renewal request, grant a renewal request, or recall the book before the due date. Renewal is not permitted for any overdue Interlibrary Loan items.

If the ILL book band on the item does not state, "No Renewals", you may submit a renewal request through your ILLiad account by viewing your active requests and clicking the Renew Item button. Requests should be submitted 1-3 days before an item is due. You may request one renewal for each item you borrow, unless the lending library stipulates that no renewals will be accepted.

If the lending library doesn't agree to your renewal request, Interlibrary Loan will notify you via email to return the item. If the renewal request is denied, the book must be returned on the original due date.

4. Can ILL materials be taken out, or shipped out of the South Florida area?

No, interlibrary loan materials should not be taken out of the South Florida area, to another state, or country for any reason. Lending libraries loan materials with the expectation that they are being used on campus or at a South Florida residence.

5. Can someone else pick up my ILL requests at the Circulation Desk?

Only the person placing the interlibrary loan request or persons designated as an 'authorized user' within the requestor's ILLiad account may pick up ILL materials. The ILL book band will list all authorized users for a requestor's ILLiad account. Authorized users will need to bring their CaneID card to pick up ILL materials.

6. How do I get Adobe Acrobat Reader?

Acrobat Reader is available without charge from Adobe Systems, Inc. Click the "Get Acrobat Reader" button to go directly to the download page.

7. How do I get my articles when they arrive?

Logon to ILLiad. On the main menu, choose "View/Download Electronic Document Delivery Articles." This will give you a list of all items that you have waiting to view, print or download.

8. How do I know if my computer can receive electronic articles?

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed and configured to work with your Web browser in order to view, download, and print these articles. If you can read the sample page, then your computer has the necessary software installed to work with your Web browser. However, if your computer tells you the file type is unknown and asks if you want to save the file to disk, then you need to install the Adobe Acrobat Reader software.

9. How do I know when my Interlibrary Loan item is due?

Each ILL item will have a paper band wrapped around the cover detailing the due date and any loan restrictions placed by the lending library, including whether the item may be renewed. This band must remain on the item at all times. You may also log into your ILLiad account to review the due date and any restrictions associated with your borrowed item.

Failure to return materials in a timely manner can jeopardize the University of Miami's relationship with other libraries and may result in the blocking of Interlibrary Loan services to the University of Miami community.

10. How do I know which requests will be electronically delivered and which ones will not?

ILLiad sends you an e-mail notification for each item received. That e-mail will include information about the delivery method. Currently electronic delivery is only available for items that are delivered to us electronically from the lending library so please read the e-mail notifications carefully.

11. How do I sign up for electronic delivery?

Logon to ILLiad. From the main menu, click the button labeled "Change Personal Info." For the choice "Preferred Electronic Delivery if Possible (via web through ILLiad?)," choose "Yes" to have your electronic articles posted to your ILLiad account.

12. How long does it take to receive Interlibrary Loan materials?

The average time to receive materials is 1-2 weeks for loans and 2-5 days for copies or electronic documents. The turnaround time on requests depends on the location of the lending library and/or whether your request had to be forwarded to multiple libraries before finding a willing lender.

If you cannot use an item if not received by a specific date, please indicate this in your original request.

13. How long will I have access to the article?

The article will be available for 30 days from the date of notification or until you delete the item. During the 30 day period the item may be viewed, printed and/or downloaded as needed.

14. How will I know my request is ready for pick up?

You may set your preference for either email or phone notification in your ILLiad account. Unless otherwise specified the default/preferred notification for pick-up will be email. ILLiad will send an automatic email to the address listed in your account when your Interlibrary Loan request has been received and processed.

Requests will be held for pick up at the Richter Library 1st Floor Circulation Desk for the duration of the loan period. Materials not retrieved by the end of the loan period will be returned to the lending library.

If you are unable to pick up your materials within the loan period, please contact the Interlibrary Loan office at 305-284-6102 or ill.library@miami.edu.

15. If I am a current faculty member, can I directly borrow materials from other research libraries via the OCLC Reciprocal Faculty Borrowing Program?

Yes, the University of Miami is a member of the OCLC Reciprocal Faculty Borrowing Program, in which participating ARL libraries agree to extend borrowing and/or access privileges to faculty of other participaing institutions. See this list of participating institutions.

Current, full-time University of Miami faculty may obtain a OCLC Reciprocal Faculty Borrowing Program card by applying in person at the Richter Library 1st Floor Circulation Desk. When visiting a participating library, present your OCLC Reciprocal Faculty Borrowing program card and photo ID at the main library circulation desk of the visited library. You are advised to contact libraries in advance of any visit, as access and borrowing privileges vary by institution.

16. If there is a library that owns what I want, why won't they lend it?

There are many valid reasons why libraries will not loan materials which they own. The book may be checked out, lost or missing. Also, some libraries will not loan materials which they consider to be valuable or needed by their patrons on a regular basis. In addition, libraries often restrict the lending of certain material formats of material such as computer software, video recordings, audio recordings, and microfilm.

Many libraries do not loan materials that have been published within the last and/or current year. We now forward all requests for recent publications to the library's Collection Development Department for review for purchase. ILLiad will automatically send you an email if this has occurred with your request. If approved by Collection Development, the request will be ordered as a rush purchase and you will be notified upon its arrival - typically within 3-5 days.

17. Is security a problem if I use a public workstation?

Yes. Web browsers cache information and create a history file on the local workstation. This allows a subsequent user of the workstation to access the system under your name using the browser's Back button to recall a page from the cache, or by finding a page with your personal information in the browser's history file. If you are concerned about the security of your interlibrary loan requests, you can take the following steps:

  • Access ILLiad only from your personal computer or an otherwise secure workstation.
  • When using a public access workstation: Delete from the history file those pages that contain your personal information. Exit from the Web browser before you leave the workstation. This prevents the Back button from accessing the pages you were using.

18. May I obtain my Textbooks via Interlibrary Loan?

Textbooks required for course study are not provided by Interlibrary Loan. Textbooks should be purchased. If the bookstore does not have the textbook in stock, please notify your instructor or the bookstore staff. Requests for textbooks will be cancelled.

19. What are the penalties for overdue and /or lost materials?

The ILLiad system will automatically email an overdue notice to the address listed in your ILLiad account two days after the due date. If needed, a second overdue notice will be sent 10 days after the 1st notice and your ILL privileges will be blocked. ILL privileges will remain blocked until overdue items are returned to the library.

A bill for replacement, plus a non-returnable $25 processing fee will be sent to you upon receipt of an invoice from the lending library. Unpaid bills will be transferred to the Bursar's Office 30 days from issuance.

Failure to return overdue materials may result in the lending library blocking ILL services to the UM community. Interlibrary Loan users with established patterns of overdue and/or lost ILL items may have their ILL privileges revoked or restricted to in-house use of borrowed materials.

20. What if a page is missing or illegible?

If there are any pages missing or text that is illegible or cut off, please contact the Interlibrary Loan office immediately. We can be contacted at (305)284-6102 or ill.library@miami.edu. If possible, please provide the transaction number so that we can easily identify the request and reorder the problematic pages.

21. What if I do not want electronic delivery?

Paper delivery is the ILLiad default. Electronic delivery will be provided only if you choose it as an option on your Personal Information Form in ILLiad.

22. What if I have a question about Interlibrary Loan?

Please contact the Interlibrary Loan office at 305-284-6102 or e-mail: ill.library@miami.edu.

23. What if I have questions about electronic delivery?

Please contact the Interlibrary Loan office at 305-284-6102 or e-mail: ill.library@miami.edu.

 

24. What if I lose or damage materials?

You are responsible for the safe return of all items borrowed via Interlibrary Loan. If an ILL item is lost or damaged, you are financially responsible for the repair or replacement costs set forth by the lending library.

You are also responsible for any damage caused by photocopying, even if no specific photocopy restrictions are noted on the material. Should damage occur, please report it to the Interlibrary Loan Office and do not attempt to repair the item yourself.

Should you lose or damage an Interlibrary Loan item contact the Interlibrary Loan office at 305-284-6102 or ill.library@miami.edu.

25. What if I'm a Faculty Proxy / Authorized User?

Anyone wishing to allow a proxy to either initiate or pick up interlibrary loan requests for them must list such individuals as an 'authorized user' within their ILLiad account. If you are a faculty proxy/authorized user, please bring your CaneID card when picking up ILL materials for the faculty member. All authorized users are listed on the ILL book band attached to ILL materials.

Never order materials for anyone else, including a professor, on your personal ILLiad account. You will be held responsible for all charges on your account.

26. What if I'm affiliated with the Miller School of Medicine?

Patrons affiliated with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine must use the Interlibrary Loan services provided by the Louis Calder Memorial Library to borrow materials from non-University of Miami libraries.

27. What if I'm affiliated with the School of Law?

Patrons affiliated with the University of Miami School of Law must use the Interlibrary Loan services provided by the School of Law Library to borrow materials from non-University of Miami libraries

28. What if there are pages that are upside down?

Journal articles sent by the lending library are sometimes scanned with alternating pages upside down. If you are using the Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 4.05 or higher, you can rotate the pages on the screen using the buttons on the toolbar. Otherwise, you an print the article and then organize your pages manually.

29. What is electronic delivery?

Many libraries ship photocopies of articles to us in electronic format. In the past we printed these articles before delivering them to you. Now, through ILLiad, we are able to offer you the option of electronic delivery of these articles in PDF format (Adobe's Portable Document Format). You can read more about electronic delivery on the Electronic ILL Delivery FAQ page.

30. What is electronic ILL delivery?

Many libraries ship photocopies of articles to us in electronic format. In the past we printed these articles before delivering them to you. Now, through ILLiad, we are able to offer you the option of electronic delivery of these articles in PDF format (Adobe's Portable Document Format) via a secure web site.

Currently electronic delivery is only available for items that are delivered to us electronically from the lending library.

31. What is ILLiad?

ILLiad is the software used to manage all interlibrary loan requests. You must have an ILLiad account in order to place an interlibrary loan request. Your ILLiad account will also allow you to monitor the status of your requests, request a renewal, and establish/modify preferences for receiving electronic documents.

32. What is Interlibrary Loan?

Interlibrary Loan is a service to provide access to materials not owned by the University of Miami Libraries in support of the research, teaching, and course-assignment needs of University of Miami faculty, students, and staff.

33. What materials can be obtained?

In general, most books, photocopied articles, music scores, theses or dissertations, some audio-visual materials, government documents, and other course-related research materials not owned by the University of Miami may be obtained via Interlibrary Loan.

34. What materials can not be obtained via ILL?

The National Interlibrary Loan Code (1993) places some restrictions on the materials we can borrow. We do not normally borrow the following:

  • Textbooks used in course work;
  • Standardized test preparation books (i.e. LSAT, GRE, GMAT, MCAT, TOEFL etc.);
  • Non-circulating materials (reference books, rare books, etc.);
  • Audio-visual materials (refer to Exception 1 below);
  • Periodicals (i.e. entire issues);
  • Genealogical materials;
  • Computer software;
  • Non-circulating theses and dissertations;
  • Materials owned by the library and currently in use (i.e. checked out or in course reserves)(refer to Exception 2 below); and

Exception 1- Faculty may borrow video cassettes/DVDs required for instructional purposes. Due to the heavy demand for audiovisual material, videos may only be available for a short loan period (approximately 5 days). Please note that many libraries do not loan audiovisual material and it may not be possible to find a willing lender for every request.

Exception 2 - Materials owned by the library but with missing, lost, or at bindery status, or which are overdue from a recall may be requested via Interlibrary Loan.

35. What policies govern Interlibrary Loan service?

Interlibrary Loan requests should be in support of academic or curricular needs. Conditions for interlibrary loans are set by the National Interlibrary Loan Code of the American Library Association and by individual libraries.

It is the prerogative of the lending library to set the loan period, refuse to lend materials, withhold permission to photocopy, and/or restrict materials to library use. As the borrowing library, we must adhere to all rules and restrictions of the lending library.

36. What Web browser should I use?

You need a Web browser that can handle forms, tables, and, preferably, one that can handle frames. We recommend Internet Explorer 6.0 or Netscape 7.0, or comparable Internet browsers for Windows users, and Safari 1.2 for Mac users.

37. When are Interlibrary Loans due?

The loan period for all interlibrary loan requests are established by the lending library. In general:

  • You may retain most borrowed items for at least 3 weeks.
  • Some materials may have much shorter loan periods.
  • Some materials may be restricted to use only within the Richter Library.
  • Some materials may have restrictions against photocopying.
  • Items obtained through interlibrary loan may NOT be put on Course Reserve.

38. Where do I pick up and/or return Interlibrary Loan materials?

Interlibrary Loan materials should be picked up and returned to the Richter Library 1st Floor Circulation Desk.

Interlibrary Loan materials should never be returned in the book drops, whether inside or outside of the library.

39. Who do I contact if I have problems with or questions about ILLiad?

Please contact the InterLibrary Loan office at 305-284-6102 or e-mail to ill.library@miami.edu.

40. Who do I contact if I have problems with or questions about ILLiad?

Please contact the InterLibrary Loan office at 305-284-6102 or e-mail to ill.library@miami.edu.

41. Who is eligible?

Interlibrary Loan is available to University of Miami faculty (including retirees), staff, and currently enrolled students.

Alumni and external users are ineligible to receive Interlibrary Loan services, and are encouraged to seek this service from the nearest public library.

Students and faculty from other academic institutions must initiate Interlibrary Loan requests through their home institution.

42. Why do I need an ILLiad account?

ILLiad is the software used to manage all interlibrary loan requests. You must have an ILLiad account in order to place an interlibrary loan request. Your ILLiad account will also allow you to monitor the status of your requests, request a renewal, and establish/modify preferences for receiving electronic documents.

43. Why does my browser say that you're sending a cookie? What's in it?

The Active Server Pages technology that we use to provide live reporting for the web sends a Session ID to be stored on your machine. You can refuse this cookie and still be able to use the ILL web pages and ILLiad without any problems.

44. Why don't I see all my older requests when I look at my request history?

From time to time we purge older records from ILLiad. Our policy is to keep requests online for several years order to comply with record keeping requirements of the copyright law.

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