Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a free service for obtaining materials not available through the University of Pittsburgh Libraries or EZBorrow (PALCI). University of Pittsburgh faculty, students, and staff with a current University of Pittsburgh ID and a Pitt computing account are eligible to use the service.* Users can request books, journal articles, book chapters, dissertations, newspapers, audio-visual material, and other publications.
*Pitt Online students can request ILL loans and copies.
Requests can be submitted through the ILL request page. You will need to log in using your Pitt computing account username and password. The first time you place an ILL request, you will be asked to enter your personal information. For subsequent requests, you will not need to enter your personal information.
Select the type of request you would like to make (Book, Journal Article, etc.). Enter information in the required fields (marked with an *) as well as any notes or additional information you have about the item (e.g. edition, ISBN, etc.) and then click Submit Request.
Once I submit my request, how long will it take?
Requests can be monitored through the ILL request page. If you have any questions, please contact the ILL office: (412) 648-7762 or dd2ill@pitt.edu. Patrons at the regional campuses can contact the service desks at those libraries.
When your ILL loan items (books, microforms, audio-visual material, etc.) have arrived, you will be notified by email. Your loans will be available at the service desk of the pick-up location you selected when you registered on the ILL web site. You will need to present your Pitt ID in order to check the items out. Your loans will be kept on the hold shelf until the due date expires. There are several important policies and procedures to be aware of after you receive your ILL loans:
Loan Periods
Loan periods are set by the lending institutions and will vary depending on their loan policies.
Renewals
Most ILL loans are eligible for a one time renewal. Check the yellow band on your ILL loan to make sure the "No Renewals" box is not checked. If the "No Renewals" box has not been checked and you would like to request a renewal, these are the procedures you should follow:
In-Library Use
Some ILL loans may be restricted to in-library use. These items will need to be checked out to your account and returned to the service desk each time you use them. Please notify library staff when you are finished using the items for good so that they can be returned to the lending institution.
Further restrictions may limit use only within the Special Collections Reading Room. These items can be designated for use in the Reading Room either upon request by the lender or due to extremely fragile condition of the material.
Returns
ILL loans should be returned to a ULS library by the due date printed on the yellow band or the renewal due date shown on your account in PittCat. There is no grace period for ILL loans; if loans are returned after the due date, there is a $1.00 overdue charge per day per item. If you're not sure of the due dates, please check your library account, either in PittCat or on the ILL web site.
When your ILL copies (journal articles, book chapters, etc.) have arrived, you will be notified by email.* Your copies will be available as downloadable PDFs in the Received Articles section of your account on the ILL web site. These documents will remain in your account for 30 days. If you have any problems, please contact the Interlibrary Loan office either by phone: (412) 648-7762, email: dd2ill@pitt.edu, or Ask Us.
* Please be sure to check your spam or junk mail folders and set your filters to accept emails from @pitt.edu.
