Skip to Main Content

Interlibrary Loan

Use this guide to obtain policies, procedures and general information about Interlibrary Loan services.

Policies and Procedures

Who may use Interlibrary Loan?
ILL services may be used by enrolled Southeastern undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff, as well as retired faculty and staff. Persons that do not have Southeastern e-mail accounts must contact the ILL department at 985-549-5318 or libill@selu.edu about registering for an account.

How to submit a request?
In order to request materials through interlibrary loan, all users must first register through ILLiad, our interlibrary loan system. After registering, users can request interlibrary loan materials through ILLiad, check the status of their requests, and view a history of requests submitted through ILLiad.    

What is the request limit?
Patrons are limited to 20 outstanding ILL requests at one time. In addition, only 5 requests per patron per day, up to the limit of 20, will be processed.

How will I be notified?

You will be emailed when your ILL material(s) are ready for pick up at the Circulation Desk.

How long does it take and how will I be notified?
The amount of time taken for requested materials to arrive depends upon several factors such as completeness and accuracy of citations, number of lending libraries that hold the material, proximity of the lending library, and transit (mail) time. Generally, a minimum of 8-10 working days is needed to search, process, and receive each request. 

  • For books, the patron will be notified by email. Items should be picked up promptly. 
  • For articles, all materials received electronically by the interlibrary loan department will be sent electronically to patrons with Southeastern e-mail accounts. Patrons will be able to retrieve their requests from the web through ILLiad by clicking on "View/Download Electronically Delivered Requests." You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed and configured to work with your Web browser in order to view, download and print these materials. For a free download, go to http://get.adobe.com/reader/.

What is document delivery? 
You may use your ILLiad to request copies of articles from print journals owned by Sims Library.  Our goal is to fill these requests within 48-72 hours, excluding nights and weekends. When your request has been filled, you will receive an email notification with a link to the scanned article which you will be able to view for 30 days. 

Status of Loan Request
You can check the status of your loan request by logging into your ILLiad account and selecting "View/Modify Outstanding Requests" from the main menu. You do have the option to cancel the order if it has not been shipped by the lending institution.  

When are Interlibrary Loans due? 
Loan periods are set by the lending libraries and will be strictly enforced.  In general, you may retain most borrowed items for at least 3 weeks.  Some materials have shorter loan periods.  Some materials may be restricted to use only within Sims Library.  Some materials may have restrictions against photocopying.  Items obtained through interlibrary loan may NOT be put on Course Reserve.  

Where do I return materials?
All materials borrowed (with the exception of electronic or paper photocopies) should be returned to the Circulation Desk. Patrons are responsible for borrowed material until it is safely returned to the ILL office.

What is the renewal policy?
Lending libraries determine if their materials may be renewed. If you wish to borrow the material longer than the due date, please request a renewal through ILLiad prior to the due date. After requesting a renewal, you will be notified by the ILL staff if the lending library accepted the renewal and the staff will send you the new due date. Renewals are completed at the discretion of the lending library and may not be granted. Overdue materials may not be renewed. Repeated disregard of the lending library due date will result in the suspension of ILL privileges. Patrons are not allowed to contact lending libraries directly to arrange for a renewal. 

Lost or Damaged ILL Items
The Interlibrary Loan user is financially responsible for any damage to or loss of interlibrary loan materials, from the time they are picked up until they are safely returned to the department. Items are considered lost when they are 30 days overdue. Damaged items include, but are not limited to, cracked binding, gouges, missing/ripped pages, water damage/stains, highlighting/markings, etc. If the item is lost or damaged, the user has 30 days from the due date to replace the item (in acceptable condition) or a replacement fee (determined by the lending library) will be charged to the user's account. If the lending library does not accept replacement items, their standard fee will be charged to the user's account. Charges for overdue, damaged and lost items are determined by the lending library.

Why is my ILLiad account blocked?
Users are blocked when they owe fines or have not returned ILL books.  When you are blocked, you cannot access your ILLiad account to request materials, view articles, place renewals or check the status of an item.  

American Library Association Codes