Cite-Checker's Guide:
Interlibrary Loan

What is ILL?
How to request an ILL
How long does it take?
Notification, due dates, fines

ILL:  What if the NYU libraries don't have the book, article or other material that you need?
Interlibrary Loan ("ILL") is a service provided to NYU law students, staff and faculty, free of charge. ILL is a way to obtain material not available at the NYU libraries (Law Library, Bobst, etc.).

Because of the large volume of requests that the library must process, ILL should be used sparingly, and as a last resort. Before you submit an ILL request, try these options, which will almost always put the material in your hands faster than obtaining it via ILL:

1.  Ask your editor to contact the author of the manuscript for a copy of the material, especially material such as drafts and internal documents that the author obtained through professional contacts, and other hard-to-locate sources.

2.  Use the material at another library. Is time of the essence? If you are willing to 1) travel to a library in the New York City area, and 2) use the book there, then search individual library catalogs by following the "Library Catalogs" link from the Law Library Home Page at http://www.law.nyu.edu/library/catalogs.html which provides links to:

•  Bobcat, the NYU Bobst Library catalog, at http://library.nyu.edu/collections/find_books.html
•  other local law libraries
•  MEDCat, the NYU Ehrman Medical Library catalog, at http://medcat.med.nyu.edu/
•  CATNYP, the New York Public Library Research Libraries catalog, at http://catnyp.nypl.org/

3.  Access to other libraries: Your NYU ID gives you access to the NYU libraries and consortium libraries (including the New School Fogelman Library and the Cooper Union library). Circulation and checkout policies vary at each library.

Your NYU ID also gives you access to Columbia Law Library and Fordham Law Library. Most other academic libraries require a pass; please inquire at the Law Library Reference Desk.

You will not have checkout privileges at libraries outside of NYU; you must use material onsite or go back to NYU Law Library and request an interlibrary loan. NOTE: ILL transactions are conducted between institutions, not individuals. Although you may be able to visit another library and use material there, if you wish to borrow the material, you must submit an ILL request to NYU Law Library. The material will be delivered to NYU Law Library; you cannot pick it up in person at the other library. There are no exceptions to this rule.

Please be aware that the ILL service does not guarantee that we will be able to fill all requests. Some material is unobtainable from any source. While we strive to fill all requests in a timely fashion, in the final analysis we are at the mercy of the lending institutions. Certain types of material are difficult, if not impossible, to obtain from another library, such as:

•  multi-volume sets
•  very recent material
•  entire issues or volumes of law reviews and other periodicals
•  newspaper articles
•  reference or reserve material
•  rare books and manuscripts 
•  newsletters, pamphlets, and other ephemera
•  in-house and internal documents or drafts that the          manuscript author obtained through professional contacts
•  paper copies of materials that exist only online, e.g., WTO documents

In addition, the library reserves the right not to fill requests for:

•  paper copies of materials that the library has in microfiche/film or has access to in an electronic image format that is acceptable for cite-checking
•  material described too vaguely by the manuscript author to allow the library to identify it

How to request an interlibrary loan:

•  First, check the JULIUS online catalog at http://julius.law.nyu.edu and determine that the Law Library does not own the material, or that it is checked out or otherwise not on the shelf. See also Cite-Checker's Guide: Finding Books.

•  Fill out an Interlibrary Loan Request Form (available at the Reference Desk).  PLEASE submit a separate request for each book, article or other item; multiple requests submitted on a single form will not be processed. PLEASE be legible; we cannot process a request we cannot decipher.

•  OR, submit the request electronically. Go to the Law Library website, click on Interlibrary loan, then click on Request a Book or Article Online Now.

•  Please give us as much bibliographic information as possible (author, title, date, edition, ISBN, publisher, volume, page, etc.). You do not have to tell us which other library owns the book.

How long does it take?
NYU Law Library is a member of two large consortia of libraries. Each consortium has an online database that lists the holdings of hundreds of libraries around the U.S. ILL requests are submitted electronically through these networks. Material is usually received within 7 to 10 working days, but this ultimately will depend upon how quickly the other libraries in the network respond to our request. It is impossible for us to check the status of a request by telephone call or email to the lending institutions. Please be aware that we make every effort to process requests as quickly as possible, but delays do sometimes occur due to circumstances beyond our control. If you wish, you may fill out a Status Request Form at the Reference Desk.

How will you be notified?
You will be notified by email when your material has arrived and the material will be placed in the pickup box at the Circulation Desk. Material not picked up within one week will be returned to the lending institution, and we will not be able to recall it subsequently from that institution. Please try to schedule your work so that you can use ILL materials when they arrive.

How long can you keep the material?
The length of loans varies depending upon the loan rules of the lending institution. Please note that the due date will be clearly indicated in the box on the book band on the front cover of the book. In limited cases, a renewal will be permitted, but only if you request it before the due date.

Renewal requests must be made to Kris Dalman at the NYU Law Library ILL Desk, by phone, (212) 998-6302, by email, dalmank@juris.law.nyu.edu, or in person; the ILL office is behind the Computer Lab on the B2 level of the library.

On occasion, material may be recalled by the lending institution before its due date. We will notify you if this happens.

Returning material
ILL material must be returned to the Circulation Desk.

Fines
You are responsible for any fines assessed by a lending institution for material returned after the due date. Failure to pay fines will result in suspension of library privileges and may result in a hold being placed on your academic record.