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Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery Services

What should I do if the Library cannot obtain a book for me through Interlibrary Loan?

What is not available through ILL/DDS?

ILL services may be limited.  The Library may not be able to fill every request.  The Library will notify you via email if your request cannot be fulfilled by a lending library.

  • Any book that is available for circulation in our catalog. Please note: If a book owned by the Samuel C. Williams Library is out on loan, the book may be put on hold through the Library Catalog so that the current borrower must return the book to the Library at the end of the loan period.  

  • Textbooks or other required course materials

  • Items requested more than once for the same title and same person within the same calendar year

  • Items on reserve

  • Reference books

  • Ebooks

  • Rare or archival material

  • All standards including ISO or ANSI standards 

  • Harvard Business Review case studies

  • Items subject to copyright restrictions

  • Entire issues of periodicals. We can get individual documents only. No more than 3 articles per issue of a journal will be filled in one calendar year to comply with copyright laws.

What should I do if I have an incomplete citation?

Contact a Research Services Librarian for help in verifying your citation.  It is important that your citation be accurate to avoid delays in getting your article.

Why do I get some documents in just days but others in a couple of weeks?

All requests for documents are not necessarily filled by the same service or library. The Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services Department reaches out to a network of libraries and they each have different delivery methods and turnaround times.

Can ILL books be shipped to me off-campus?

We do not ship ILL books to any off-campus location. All ILL books must be signed for at the Circulation Desk to ensure the patron has received it and accepts the book's responsibility. If you are unable to come to campus,  you can ask your local library for an interlibrary loan request. 

Can the Library obtain ISO, ANSI, or other standards?

The interlibrary loan department cannot obtain any ISO or ANSI standards. Institutions do not normally lend these types of documents and the cost of purchasing one would be too high. 

Holiday ILL Closing Schedule

Please be advised that the Interlibrary Loan Department will be unable to to initiate book requests at some point in December due to winter recess closures at Stevens and other universities.  Please visit the main ILL/DDS page and Library social media for the schedule.