Library Hacks: Interlibrary Loan and WorldCat

When you're doing research, do you search WorldCat in addition to our catalog? Are you tired of having to copy and paste the citation information from WorldCat into our ILL form when you find something you want?

If you said yes, you'll like what you're about to read!

When you find an item in WorldCat that you'd like, you can now request it right there! In the screenshot below, the two links to make your request are circled. At the top is a button that says "ILL," and further down the record is a link that says "Borrow this item through Interlibrary Loan."


All you have to do is click on one of those and enter your contact info and libary barcode number.

We've enabled this option as one of the first steps of some changes we're making to the way Interlibrary Loan works. Right now these changes are happening behind the scenes, but later this fall you'll see a new interface for all of your interlibrary loan requests. The new system will remember who you are, and allow you to track the progress of your requests (much like you can track a UPS package). We'll keep you posted on this change as the semester moves forward.