Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary Loan helps UGA faculty, students, staff and eligible affiliates borrow and request items that are not available at UGA. We also supply materials owned by the UGA Libraries to other libraries, both nationally and internationally.

UGA Users

Before submitting a request, you can see if the book, media, dissertation, or article you need is available at UGA Libraries, by checking the GIL-Find Catalog. If available, you can request that we email you PDF scans of articles and book chapters. Books at other USG libraries are also available via our GIL-Express service. You can also request that the library purchase an item.

Request an item

  • Whole textbooks cannot be borrowed via Interlibrary Loan.
  • To change your user information, including your preferred pickup location, go to Tools in your ILLiad account.

More Options

FAQs for UGA Users

What is Interlibrary Loan?

The Interlibrary Loan Department borrows books and obtains copies of articles from other libraries for eligible patrons in order to support the educational and research needs of the University of Georgia. We also lend materials and send copies of articles to other Libraries.

Who is eligible?

University of Georgia faculty, students, staff, and specific UGA affiliates are eligible for interlibrary loan. The Access Services department determines eligibility. If you have any questions about your eligibility, please contact the Access Services Department.

What can be borrowed?

We can attempt to borrow most anything you need. Please submit a request with as complete information as possible, and we will try. If we cannot obtain the material, we will contact you. Remember to check the UGA Libraries' GIL-Find Catalog, to make sure that the UGA Libraries do not own what you need. If an item is listed as "missing" in GIL-Find we can try to obtain elsewhere.

What cannot be borrowed?

Journals are rarely lent; we obtain copies of articles instead. We do not borrow textbooks for classes or obtain copies of chapters from textbooks. We generally cannot obtain genealogical research material.

Why can't Interlibrary Loan borrow required textbooks for my classes or obtain copies of chapters from required textbooks?

  • Most libraries have a policy not to buy textbooks for the general collection; therefore it could take weeks or months to locate an available copy.
  • Books from other libraries usually have a short loan period; they may or may not be renewable.
  • Holding books past the due date may affect our borrowing privileges and may incur costs for you.
  • When ILL borrows a book or obtains a copy of a chapter from another institution, there are charges that the library covers. Acquiring material such as databases for everyone to use is a wiser allocation of our resources than borrowing textbooks or getting copies of multiple chapters for individuals. With over 30,000 students, it is not economically feasible for the library to borrow textbooks for everyone.

Can I obtain UGA materials that are not on the shelf?

If you need something that the UGA Libraries own, but it is not on the shelf:

If the material is not available via GIL-Express or full-text online and you were notified by the Access Services department that the material could not be located:

  • Submit an Interlibrary Loan request.
  • IMPORTANT: please include a note saying that the material could not be located by our Access Services department; otherwise, we will notify you that we own it, and your request will be delayed.

If an item is listed as missing in GIL@UGA, you can request it from interlibrary loan without requesting a search. For any unusual circumstances, please contact us.

What is the procedure?

You can request online using our online Interlibrary Loan request form (ILLiad) . Enter your UGA MyID and password to logon; first time users will need to register. A separate form must be filled out for each request. If you do not have a complete citation, please ask for assistance. 

How long does it take?

Average time is 8 days. Copies of articles and materials available in Georgia may arrive faster. If the material is not widely held, it could take longer. If you are working against a deadline please let us know, and we will try to obtain the needed material in time.

Where do I pick up material?

When material arrives you will be notified by email. Second notices are also sent by email. Places of pickup are the Main Library Interlibrary Loan Office (when we are closed all material can be picked up at the Reserve Desk) and the Circulation Desks at the following locations: McBay Science Library, Curriculum Materials Library, Music Library, Art Library, and the Carnegie Health Sciences Library. You may choose your pickup location when you register to use the online request form. The notification email will give you information on where to pick up the material.

How long can I keep loans? Renewals?

The lending library determines the loan period, which may vary. It may be possible to renew loans; renewals should be requested a few days before the due date. Please see the bookband on the material for instructions on how to request a renewal. Second renewals are unusual; however, if the material was borrowed from a library in Georgia, a second renewal may be possible. As always, please contact us for any unusual circumstances.

Where do I return loans?

Materials picked up at the Main Library must be returned to the Main Library Interlibrary Loan Office (after hours please return to Circulation staff or the Circulation book drop). We prefer materials picked up at the other locations be returned where you picked them up. Please do not use campus or U.S. mail to return materials.

How do I obtain dissertations written at other institutions?

If you would like to borrow a dissertation, please fill out an Interlibrary Loan request form. If we cannot borrow it, or if there is a problem, we will send you an email citing your options.

If you would like to purchase a dissertation: You may purchase dissertations directly from Proquest. The service is called Dissertation Express (for individuals) and you can use a credit card. Check their web page for pricing. They will mail the material directly to you, typically within 3-5 working days. Some dissertations are also available for purchase from Proquest by downloading.

If you would like to borrow a dissertation written at a university in another country, please fill out an interlibrary loan request form. We will check to see if it is owned by a library in the U.S. or if the library at the granting university is willing to lend. The Center for Research Libraries can also attempt to purchase dissertations for our use. This process can be lengthy (sometimes 6 months or more), and we would contact you before beginning this process.

How do I obtain copies of patents?

Many U.S. and foreign patents are available on the web. Go to the UGA Libraries' patent resources web page to see if the patent you need is available. If you need assistance in printing the patent, ask at the Reference Desk. If the patent you need is not available on the web, you can fill out an Interlibrary Loan request form and we will try to obtain it for you. Please include the patent number, country, author and title. Copies of U.S. patents can usually be obtained from Georgia Tech. Foreign patents and applications are usually available from the Chemical Abstracts Services.

Are there alternatives to Interlibrary Loan?

There are document delivery services that will supply articles directly to individuals. The fees vary from supplier to supplier and may be expensive. (See Alternatives to Interlibrary Loan below). However, the material is sent directly to you within hours, a few days, or immediately. GIL-Express may be an option for books owned by other University System Libraries. As long as you have no fines or blocks with Circulation, UGA affiliates are also eligible to check out materials while at any University System of Georgia library and also Emory University. Please contact the Access Services department for more information.

Alternatives to Interlibrary Loan

If you need an article quickly on the weekend, you can try one of these companies that supply articles directly to individuals:

You can also request that the library purchase an item.

UGA Law Students
 

Please use the Law Library for your interlibrary loan requests.

Non-UGA Users
 

Individual Users

If you are not UGA faculty, student or staff but want access to materials owned by the UGA Libraries, please contact the public or college library that you are affiliated with. UGA Material will be sent to your home library by our Lending Unit.

Librarians

Please see our Lending Policies for Other Libraries below.

Lending Policies for Other Libraries

Forms

If you are a librarian from another institution in need of UGA materials for your patrons, we prefer that requests be made via OCLC (WorldCat, Tipasa, or ILLiad). If you do not have access to OCLC, please use our online web form. We are no longer accepting typed, faxed, or Arieled requests. Please do not send email requests to individual staff members. Using email may slow down response time.

Fees for consortial partner libraries

We supply material free to ARCHE, GOLD, other Georgia not-for-profit libraries, ASERL Reciprocal Agreement Partners, and pre-agreed upon ARL partners.

We do not charge for SOLINE loans; we DO charge for SOLINE photocopies.

Feed for non-consortial partner libraries

  • Loans: $15 for 1-5 volumes/reels or 1-20 fiche, per bibliographic record.
  • Photocopies: $15 for 1-40 pages. If material is over 40 pages we will advise.
  • International loans other than Canada are $40.00; copies remain at $20.00 per quantities cited above.
  • Canadian loans and copies remain at $20.00.

Rush Fee

Additional $10 for non-consortial academic, public, medical, and international libraries. Additional $30 for corporate/for profit libraries. For OCLC users, we welcome IFM as the method for payment. In addition, we accept IFLA vouchers. If invoiced, our Business Office will bill you at the end of the month.

Material that does not circulate

Microcards, unbound periodicals, most reference material, special collections (i.e. Hargrett Library), Georgia newspapers for which we do not own the master negative, UGA dissertations and theses for which we do not own a circulating copy.

Availability

Check for the availability of books and media using our online catalog. You can also check Dissertations & Theses at UGA. For information about what UGA Libraries owns, please contact the Research & Instruction Department.

Help and Contact

ILL - Borrowing

Cindy Flom, Borrowing Supervisor
Phone: 706-542-0643
Email: borrow@uga.edu

ILL - Lending

Michael Law, Lending Supervisor
Phone: 706-542-3274
Email:lending@uga.edu
OCLC Symbol: GUA
NUC Symbol: GU

General

Susan Morris - Head, ILL
Phone: 706-542-0642
Email: smorris@uga.edu

Mailing Address

Interlibrary Loan Lending
Main Library
320 South Jackson Street
The University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602-1644
U.S.A.