Interlibrary Loan

ODU students, faculty, staff, and lifetime members of Friends of the University Libraries are eligible to use ILL services.

To register for interlibrary loan services, you must create an ILLiad account (top of page). Log in using your MIDAS ID, then fill out the form on the ILLiad webpages.

Once you have signed up for ILL services you can access your account (top of page) and log in using your MIDAS ID. From your account you can check the status of your pending requests, see which items you have checked out with their due dates, change your password or personal information, and make manual requests for items.

Generally, there is no cost for users to acquire materials via interlibrary loan. Most costs are paid by the ODU Libraries. In rare situations the lending library charges a fee we are unable to pay. In these cases, we contact you to determine if you are willing to pay these additional charges.

You may request materials found in Monarch OneSearch, online research databases, bibliographies, or reference lists from journal articles, books, dissertations, etc. If you have a citation, we can attempt to borrow it!

Widely published books and journal articles are usually acquired quickly and easily. We will attempt to acquire all items requested; however, the following items are often difficult and sometimes impossible to obtain:

• Books published very recently, especially current fiction
• Popular non-academic media - CDs and DVDs
• Mixed media - slides, art catalogs, etc.
• Entire issues of journals
• Archival materials
• Books more than 75 years old
• Books owned by only a handful of libraries
• Books not available in any North American libraries
• Foreign dissertations
• Material that is "in press" but has not yet been officially released by the publisher
• Textbooks

You can place requests directly through some online research databases or you can login to your ILLiad account and create a manual request.

Delivery times vary depending on the type of material you request and which library sends us your requested materials. Articles can arrive in as little as a few hours and as long as 7-10 days. Books and A/V materials generally arrive 3-10 days after the request is placed.

The pick-up and return location for all Interlibrary Loan materials is the Help Desk, 1st Floor, Perry Library. Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services staff members are located in Perry Library, Room 4000-West (4th floor) to answer your questions. They can also be contacted at libill@zb-fc.com or 757-683-4170.

If you requested an article, it will likely be delivered electronically to your ILLiad account. To access these documents, you must login to your ILLiad account (top of page). Select "Electronically Received Articles" under View on the left navigation bar to view and download them.

We will mail you the materials you request, including books in the ODU Libraries collections, to your home address or your distance learning site. Request an electronic UPS return label at libill@zb-fc.com. Please provide your email address and home address on the UPS return label.

Requests are cancelled for a variety of reasons, including:

• It is available through the ODU Libraries collections
• It is available for free online
• It is a rare item and we have been unable to locate a copy to borrow
• The item is written in a foreign language and you did not indicate that other languages are acceptable

You can check the status of a request by logging into your ILLiad account (top of page). Select "Outstanding Requests" under View on the left navigation bar to check the status. To view a list of items you have checked out with their due dates, select "Checked Out Items"

ODU Libraries are committed to serving the research needs of faculty, students and staff. There are no limits on the number of requests you can make or the number of items you can have checked out. Because interlibrary loan is an expensive service subsidized by the university we do, however, ask that you only request items needed for your research.

No. The due date for the items you borrow is set by the lending library and generally ranges from two to eight weeks. If the book label is not stamped "No Renewal" we may be able to renew the item for another loan period (another two to eight weeks). If you need a book for an extended period of time, we recommend that you place a new request for it a week or two before the due date on the copy you have.

If the book label is stamped "No Renewal" the lending library will not allow an extension of the due date. If there is no stamp we can request a renewal, but the decision is made by the lending library and not the ODU ILL office.

You have several options for requesting a renewal:

• Login to your ILLiad account (top of page) and view the item you want to renew under "Checked Out Items" on the left navigation bar. Click on transaction number of the item you want to renew. If you see a "Renew Request" button above the transaction information, you can attempt to request a renewal.
• You can respond to the automatic due date reminder email that you receive approximately one week before an item is due
• You can contact us directly at libill@zb-fc.com or 757-683-4170

We will attempt to acquire any item that you request; however, most libraries do not own current editions of textbooks, so it is unlikely we would be able to get the book for you. If a library does own it, it is often in a non-circulating reserve collection and unavailable for interlibrary loan. You are welcome to request an earlier edition of a required textbook.

If you indicate that you only want English language materials and there is a published English language translation of the requested item we will attempt to obtain it. If the item is written in a foreign language and there is not a published English language translation we cannot translate the item for you.

Possibly. Some libraries are able to provide color copies, though many are not. If you need a color copy of an article, please indicate this in the notes field of the request and we will try to find a library that can supply it. If we are unable to locate a provider, we will contact you to determine if black-and-white is acceptable.

Items should be returned on or before the due date listed on the book label. We will contact via email approximately 7 days before the item is due, 7 days after the item is due, and 21 days after the item is due. At 21 days overdue, we will place a block on your ILLiad and library accounts. At 28 days overdue, you will begin to accrue fines of $1/day until the item is returned. Overdue fines only post to the patron's account at the point the book is checked in. If the item is more than 60 days overdue, you will be billed an $80 replacement fee. If you return the item after this point, we will forgive the $80 replacement fee, but the overdue fines will stand.

If you determine that you have lost an item, please contact the ILL department either in person, by phone at 757-683-4171, or by email at libill@zb-fc.com. We will contact the lending library to determine what options are available to replace the lost item and inform you of their preference.