InterLibrary Loan (ILL) FAQs
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a service for MSSU faculty, staff, students, community
borrowers, and CMSU, SMSU, and UMKC graduate students who attend
classes on the MSSU campus. On their behalf, we request from another
library those items - articles, books, dissertations, and videos
- that are not available at the George A. Spiva Library.
Where can MSSU users submit an ILL request?
The ILL form is available at the both Circulation desks and the
Reference desk. The forms are to be submitted at the main circulation
desk.
An ILL request may also be submitted online:
InterLibrary
Loan for Books -online request form
for books not found at Spiva AND
not available through MOBIUS
Interlibrary
Loan for Articles -online request
form for journal articles not available
full-text online AND not available
in print at Spiva.
What information do I need to submit an ILL request?
Most of the information that you will need is available in the
citation information. For books, you need title, author, publisher,copyright
date and ISBN and Edition numbers when available. For a magazine
article, you will need title of the article, title of the magazine,
volume/issue numbers, page numbers, date, and author.
Can I get magazines? Dissertations?
Yes. Magazine articles and dissertations can be obtained through ILL. You
will receive a copy of the article you need but not the entire magazine. Occasionally
dissertations are only available if purchased. Please ask at the Circulation
desk.
Are there charges associated with this service?
The ILL department does not charge university affiliated patrons
for its services, unless the lending library charges Spiva Library.
Accordingly, MSSU is a member of Libraries Very Interested in Sharing (LVIS)
consortium, which shares materials free of charge. It is our goal to acquire
the materials our users have ordered as quickly as possible from an LVIS library.
However, some materials are available only at non-LVIS libraries, which charge
fees. When this is the case, we contact the requester to ask if s/he is willing
to finance the lowest available fee. Although ILL charges vary, most non-LVIS
libraries charge $10.00 to $25.00 for each request.
Community patrons are charged $2 for each completed request even
those from LVIS libraries. If an item is loaned to us from a non-LVIS
institution charging us an additional fee, the community patron
will be charged the additional fees, as well, if they approved
this charge when contacted.
Where do I pick up an ILL request?
An ILL request is retrieved at the main circulation desk. (If the request
is an article, the requester may keep it; if the request is a book or video,
s/he must return it to the main circulation or secondary circulation desk
on or before its due date, or face a $3.00 per day fine.)
How long does it take to retrieve an ILL request?
It depends. Journal articles can be electronically disseminated within a
few days. (Occasionally, articles are electronically received on the day they
were ordered.) Books, dissertations, and videos take considerably longer to
receive, usually seven to fourteen business days.
There are many factors that influence the time a request is submitted to
the time it arrives, including the number of requests the lending library
has received from other libraries, shipping method, lack of access to electronic
tools - a fax machine, for example - that expedite the delivery of journal
articles, and the number of experience workers it can devote to ILL requests.
For these reasons, it is important for students to begin long-term
class assignments early in the semester. The longer they procrastinate,
the harder it is to receive materials through ILL before assignment
due dates.
How long are the loan periods?
Lending libraries assign due dates, and each has different loan
periods. Due dates are not assigned to journal articles, which
are photocopies that users may keep. Although there are some exceptions,
due dates for books, dissertations, and videos are generally 21
or 28 days.
Are there some types of materials that are difficult to acquire through
ILL?
Yes. Lending libraries have restrictions on what materials are available
to borrow. Although there are exceptions, they are usually unwilling
to lend the following materials:
Archives
Audio (Cassette Tapes, CD's, et cetera.)
Journal Articles only available through a proprietary database
Maps
Microfilm/Microfiche
Rare books
Reference
Videos/DVD's
Does the ILL department impose fines for late/lost ILL materials?
Yes. The fine for a late ILL item is $3.00 per day, which must be paid before
the user can borrow MSSU materials or request additional materials through
ILL.
Additionally, if an ILL item is lost, the lending library will impose a replacement
charge. This charge - which the lending library will determine and is non-negotiable
- must be paid before the library user can borrow MSSU materials and request
additional materials through ILL.
Can ILL items be renewed?
Yes. Library users can renew an ILL item longer than its assigned
due date. Contact Document Delivery at 625-3180.
However, it is the lending library that grants or rejects renewal
requests. Regardless of its decision, the requester will be called
and informed of the lending library's decision. If the ILL item
is renewed, the user will be given a new due date.
What is the difference between the MOBIUS/SWAN service and the ILL
service?
MOBIUS/SWAN is a Missouri consortium of over sixty academic and
public libraries, including Spiva Library. It affords students
the ability to electronically order books that are unavailable
at Spiva Library. A courier service connects each member library
and expedites delivery in two or three business days.
ILL is a broader service that includes tens of thousands of academic, public,
and special libraries in Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Europe.
It affords users the ability to access millions of books, dissertations, journals,
videos, and much more, that are unavailable at Spiva Library, its proprietary
databases, and the MOBIUS/SWAN consortium.
