ILLiad Interlibrary Loan

Contact ILL

The Interlibrary Loan staff is happy to consult with you about your information needs or assist you with any part of the interlibrary loan process.

ILL Contact
Phone: (508) 831-5414 or (508) 831-5952
Email: lib-ill@wpi.edu

In person: Gordon Library, Second Floor

WPI students, faculty, and staff may use the ILLiad system to request books, journal articles, and other information sources, not owned by Gordon Library.

Interlibrary Loan FAQ

Placing a Request
Checking Request Status
When Will My Items Arrive?
Receiving & Returning
Renewing
Policies
Direct Borrowing from Worcester Area Libraries
ILLiad Status Definitions
ILLiad FAQ

Placing a Request

To place an ILL request, look for the login button in the following locations:

Through the Quick Start box on the library webpage, login to ILLiad and chose the type of item you would like in New Request menu to the left. Complete all required fields and click Submit Request at the bottom of the page.

Within the library catalog, login through the ILLiad tab and chose the type of item you would like in the New Request menu to the left. Complete all required fields and click Submit Request at the bottom of the page.

From within WorldCat and other FirstSearch databases (WorldCat, BasicBIOSIS, etc): Click the ILLiad button within the detailed record for an item. The ILLiad form will self-populate with citation information, but double check to make sure the form is complete and accurate.

Please note the following:

If fewer than 15 libraries indicate ownership in WorldCat, it is likely to be difficult to obtain.
Entire journal issues cannot be obtained through ILL. If requesting an article through WorldCat, please provide all article level citation information (author, article title, volume, issue, page number) within the ILLiad request form.

Place a request from the FullTextFinder results page.

Checking Request Status

To view the status of your ILL requests login to and click All Requests in the view menu. The status of each of your requests will be indicated in the far left column of the screen. Please note that requests placed before ILLiad was implemented will not be viewable through your ILLiad account.

When Will My Items Arrive?

Standard journal/magazine article requests are filled in an average of three business days. Non-standard items, such as conference proceeding papers, articles from non-English language journals, national lab reports, etc., may take longer. To get a more specific estimate on when an item might arrive, please contact the ILL staff.
Standard book requests are filled in an average of six business days - exceptions are technical reports, theses and dissertations, rare items, foreign language titles, etc. To get a more specific estimate on when an item might arrive, please contact the ILL Staff.
RUSH service is available for some article requests. Please contact the ILL staff directly if you need an item within 48 hours. This service is not available for all items.

Receiving and Returning

When your item arrives, you will be notified by e-mail.

Books, videos and other loaned items must be picked up and returned at the Information Desk. Your WPI ID is required in order to pick up an item. Please keep all ILL paperwork with your item at all times in order to ensure proper processing. Overdue fines for ILL items are 25 ¢ per item, per day and will be charged to your library patron account once your items have been returned to the Information Desk.

Articles and short reports will be uploaded to your ILLiad account for viewing, printing and downloading. Articles posted to your ILLiad account will be available for 30 days. To retrieve your articles, follow the link to ILLiad that is embedded in the e-mail notification. To access your PDF click the Electronically Received Articles link in the View menu:

Click the PDF image in order to view, print, or download your paper.

Renewing

Many items borrowed through Interlibrary Loan may be renewed. If renewals are not allowed your notification e-mail and ILLiad bookstrap will indicate this.

To renew:

Login to your ILLiad account
Choose Checked out Items in the View menu.
Click the transaction number on the item you would like to renew. If the item is renewable, click the Renew Request button no sooner than seven days before the item is due. In most cases your item will be renewed for an additional 30 days.

Policies

Due to copyright laws, all items requested must be used for academic purposes only.
At peak requesting times, ILL staff reserve the right to limit the number of request processed to five per person, per day.
Current textbooks may not be obtained through Interlibrary Loan. Please request that your instructor place a copy of the current text on Reserve at the Library.
If an item owned by WPI is currently checked out to another patron and is due later than two weeks from the current date, patrons may place an interlibrary loan request to try to get the item from another library. If the item is due within two weeks, please place a hold on the item through My Account within the library catalog, and you will be notified by e-mail when WPI’s copy is returned.

Direct Borrowing from Worcester Area Libraries

An Academic and Research Collaborative (ARC) Borrowing Card enables WPI community members to visit Worcester area academic libraries and the Worcester Public Library directly to borrow books from them without having to use ILL. ARC Cards are issued by the Gordon Library Information Desk.

ILLiad Status Definitions

Common statuses include:

Submitted by Customer: Request has been received and is queued for processing.
Awaiting Copyright Clearance: Staff is reviewing to determine any copyright restrictions on obtaining item.
Awaiting Request Processing: Request has cleared copyright and is queued for processing by staff.
Request in Processing: Staff is searching for potential lending libraries to fulfill request.
Request Sent: Request has been sent to potential lending libraries.
Awaiting Post Receipt Processing: Lending library has verified that request will be filled.
In Print Queue: Request is being processed by staff.
Awaiting Customer Contact: Request processing is nearing completion and notification will be sent regarding pick-up.
In Electronic Delivery Processing: Request has been received electronically and is being processed by Staff for web delivery to your ILLiad account.
Customer Notified by E-mail: An e-mail notice has been sent to you with specific information about picking up your request.
Delivered to Web: Electronic article request has been posted on the web for viewing, printing, or download. Log in to your ILLiad account and select "View Electronically Received Articles" to print or save your article.
Checked out to Customer: Request has been fully processed by staff and is ready for pick-up at the Information Desk. You will receive a notice via e-mail at this point as well.
Awaiting Extensive Searching: Staff has performed an initial search and was unable to find a potential lender. We will continue in-depth searching, which may include citation verification.
Awaiting Unfilled Processing: Your request was sent to potential lenders, but no one was able to fill the request. We will continue to try to fill your request from other sources.
Searching Outside OCLC: We have been unsuccessful finding a lender within our standard network of libraries and are searching various other networks.

FAQ

What is ILLiad?

ILLiad is the electronic system you use to request an item through Interlibrary Loan. The name ILLiad can be thought of as an acronym for InterLibrary Loan internet accessible database.

How is ILLiad different from the previous ILL system that WPI used?

You will find it easier to submit your interlibrary loan requests because every ILL request will now be processed through the same interface, accessible using your WPI login and password. With ILLiad, you enter your name, address, and other personal information into the system only once, at the time of your first request.
Your articles will be downloadable through your ILLiad account and will cut down on the PDFs cluttering your e-mail inbox.
You can get information about the status of your request through the Web at any time from any location without having to ccontact the ILL Department.
Your request history is always available to you through ILLiad. However electronic materials are retained there for only 30 days due to copyright restrictions.

How do I access the ILLiad system? You will be able to access the ILLiad system through the library webpage, the FullTextFinder (through library databases and Google Scholar), and WorldCat. To place a request, click the ILLiad link and type in your WPI login and password.

Why is there no longer a link to ILL in WorldCat? The WorldCat interface now provides a link to your WPI ILLiad account. Use the ILLiad link in the detailed record for an item in order to request it through ILL.

I received an article through ILLiad a while ago and I tried to access it in my account but it is no longer there. Why? Due to copyright restrictions, we are only able to keep your article mounted in your ILLiad account for 30 days.

What are my Username and Password? Your ILLiad username is the same as your WPI username. When logging in, please type your WPI username WITHOUT "@wpi.edu". Your password is the same as the password that you use with your WPI username.

What Web browser should I use? You may use any web browser that can handle forms, tables, and preferably Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox are recommended.

When I place an article request, why does the request status say "Awaiting Copyright Clearance"? The Interlibrary Loan staff must adhere to copyright guidelines when filling requests. Before we are able to submit a request for an article we must first determine whether we will need to pay a copyright fee to obtain it legally. Once we have completed the process of clearing any copyright restriction on your request the status will change to "Awaiting Request Processing." The "Awaiting Request Processing" status indicated that we are working to find a library to fill your request.

Who do I contact if I have problems with or questions about ILLiad? Interlibrary Loan or technical support questions? Contact the InterLibrary Loan staff at (508) 831-5414 or e-mail to lib-ill@wpi.edu

Why does my browser say that you're sending a cookie? The technology behind ILLiad sends a Session ID to be stored on your machine. You can refuse this cookie and still be able to use ILLiad without any problems.

Maintained by lib-webmaster@wpi.edu
Last modified: Oct 21, 2009, 09:42 EDT