ILL Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is eligible to use Interlibrary Loan (ILL) services?
• What can be ordered via ILL?
• How long does it take to get an item?
• How many items can I request?
• How do I find the status of my request?
• How will I be notified?
• Where do I pick up materials?
• How long can I keep an item?
• Can I renew items?
• Does it cost anything?
• How do I return material?
• Are there overdue charges?
• What if I have a new email address?
• How do I contact Interlibrary Loan?

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) and other document services are available free of charge for:

• Current SDSU students


• Current and retired SDSU faculty and staff

(One exception: Undergraduates are not currently eligible for free articles from the Ingenta Article Delivery Service.)

Types of Materials

Most types of material including articles, books, or other media may be ordered via our document services provided they meet the following criteria:

• The item must be needed for SDSU research or course work AND
  
• The item must not be owned by the SDSU Library (but it's OK to order books that are currently checked out)

Some types of materials that cannot generally be ordered include: Textbooks, materials on reserve in the library, recreational reading, genealogical materials, and whole journal issues.

If your request is not eligible for these library services, you may want to check out Finding Materials at Other Libraries.

Turnaround Times, Request Limits, and Loan Periods

If you don't have time to wait for these library services, you may want to check out Finding Materials at Other Libraries.

Notification and Status of Requests

Status of Orders:  The current status of all requests is available 24 hours after submission by viewing Your Circ Record from the library's web site. Photocopy requests will drop off your circulation record as soon as the article is on the way to you.

Notification:  You'll be notified by email or regular mail when books are available for pickup at the Circulation Desk.   Photocopies will be delivered to you either electronically or to your home or campus address on file with the library.

New Email Address?

Delivery and/or Pickup of Materials

Photocopies:  Photocopies will be delivered to you electronically via our Prospero desktop delivery (if possible) or mailed to your home or campus address on file with the university. If you receive an email that your article has been posted to the web, use the login and PIN provided to access the article on the Prospero Delivery page.

Books:  All books are held for pickup at the Circulation Desk.  Your SDSU ID card will be required for checkout.

Charges

There are no charges for any of these services. Overdue fines and billing fees will be charged for books which are kept past due dates. For more details, please see Overdues and Billing below.

Returning Materials

• Return all items directly to a Circulation Desk assistant on or before the due date.
• Please do not remove the identifying strap from the book cover
• Please do not return other libraries' books in a book drop

Overdues and Billing

In order to maintain good relationships with other libraries, it is very important that books we borrow from them be returned on time.  Most books can be renewed (before the due date) via "Your Circ Record". See the table above for renewal limits. Overdue fines vary depending on the service used, but a nonnegotiable $15 billing fee is assessed on all overdue books at 10 days past the due date.  Fines for books borrowed from other libraries are as follows:

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