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Faculty Services

Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad)

Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery (ILL) service is available to current Ship students, faculty, staff, and administrators. 

If you are a SU retiree, please contact the Interlibrary Loan office at libill@ship.edu or 717-477-1462 with the details for your request, and the ILL Technician will create a request for you. We are unable to create retiree accounts at this time.

Requesting Articles

It is often easier to place an ILL request directly from a search result in a database. Look for the "Check Availability" link near the article you're looking for. If the Check Availability pages list no online access:

  • Click the "ILLiad" link near the bottom of the Journal Linker page
  • When the ILLiad login page pops up, log in to ILLiad
  • Check the article data imported into ILLiad
  • Click "Submit" to send your request

If you have a citation in hand, please check to see if the library has access to your article before requesting it via ILL.

  1. Check the Journals List
    1. Search for the Journal title
    2. Verify the year of your citation is within the date ranges indicated
      1. If an "Article" link is present, this should go directly to the article
      2. If a "Journal" link is present, this will allow online browsing of available issues
      3. If a "Database" link is present, use this to search the database which should have access to the article
    3. If the library does not have immediate online access to the article, please
  2. Request through ILLiad - the article will be scanned and sent to you electronically

Requesting Books and Other Items

When we don't have the item you need, it is usually easiest to place an ILL request directly from a search result in a database. WorldCat searches across library collections worldwide and links to ILLiad for items not owned by Lehman Library.

  1. Search WorldCat Quick Start to locate an item you want
    • Remember to check the type of item. For example, if you want books:
      • The left column offers a limit by format function, just click "Books"
    • Click the title of the item you want
      • If the pages says "This item isn't held in your library"
    • Click "Request this item via Interlibrary Loan."
      *Remember* if there are only a few copies of a book listed in WorldCat, we will probably be unable to borrow that book for you.
  2. For books, videos and other items not available using the services listed above, please request directly through ILLiad.
  3. WorldCat should match up with the Library Catalog. If you are interested, doublecheck the Library Catalog to confirm whether or not Ship Library owns a physical copy of an item.

ILLiad sequentially asks up to 15 libraries that own the item to loan it to us for you.  Each library has four days to respond before the request is transferred to the next library. 

Loan Limits

  • Undergraduate students: 10 active requests
  • Graduate students: 20 active requests
  • Faculty: 35 actve requests
  • Faculty Emeriti, Retired Staff and SU Foundation Staff: 5 active requests

A request is considered "active" until the item is delivered to the library. If you need to place more requests than these, please consult with a librarian at the Information Desk before submitting your requests.

Loan Terms

Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery (ILL) service is available to current Ship students, faculty, staff, and administrators. ILL requests are managed in a web-based application named ILLiad.

Loan periods are set by the lending library. Only one renewal may be requested; the library which loaned us the book makes the final determination on renewals. You may request a renewal of an ILL book from 5 days before through 5 days after it is due back to the library.

ILL Renewal

  • From 5 days before until 5 days after due date
  • Log in to ILLiad
  • On the left menu click on "Physical Items Received"
  • Click on the title of the item to be renewed
  • At the top upper left, click on "Renew Request"

The system will issue a TEMPORARY due date. Check status after 2-3 days to see assigned due date from lending institution.

ILL Return

If you need to return your ILL items, please drop them off in person or mail them to the library. Mailing costs are the student's responsibility. The library's address is as follows:
Lehman Library
Attn:Interlibrary Loan
1871 Old Main Dr
Shippensburg, PA 17257

USPS, UPS, & FedEx make regular deliveries to the library. Contact Interlibrary Loan with questions.

100% Online/Distance Education Student ILL Services

The library provides supplemental ILL and item delivery services for 100% online/distance students. For more information, see our page on library services for distance education students

Copyright Notice

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United State Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyright materials. Under certain conditions specified in the law, library and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified condition is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

For more detail, see our
Copyright and Fair Use Guide

We Are Here To Help

Shippensburg University libraries’ interlibrary loan services are provided to all students, faculty, and staff to support their educational and research needs, as well as for limited personal enrichment.  Interlibrary loan resources are available to supplement resources already available at the Lehman and Luhrs libraries, and to supplement the required readings already assigned and purchased by students for their courses.

 

Some Things We Can't Do

Shippensburg University libraries will not knowingly order any edition of a required textbook through interlibrary loan, and interlibrary loan does not request the same title more than once, in the same semester, for the same student (outside of the standard renewal request procedures) without permission from a faculty librarian.  Excessive and exorbitant use of the interlibrary loan system for personal use may lead to ILL request rejection for requests not of educational nature.

Some Additional Guidelines

Faculty Emeritus, Retired Staff, and SU Foundation Staff may request up to five items on Interlibrary Loan at a time. For assistance, please contact the Interlibrary Loan Staff at 477-1462 or email the ILL department at: libill@ship.edu