Interlibrary loan (ILL) is available to Penn State Faculty, Staff, Graduate Students, and Undergraduates, and in certain cases to non-University borrowers. Materials which may be requested include books, copies of journal or newspaper articles, newspaper microfilms, and some other materials. In general, theses/dissertations, reference books, rare or old books will not be sent by other libraries. If you are uncertain as to whether the material you need may be borrowed, please ask a staff member for assistance.
ILLiad is the interlibrary loan service. ILLiad is used for requesting articles from journals not located at the York Campus Library; books not owned by Penn State; and articles, bound journals and non-circulating items from the Libraries Annexes.
How to request materials via inter-library loan:
First, check to see if the book is owned by one of the Penn State Libraries. To do this, go to The CAT, and login as a PSU user. Enter the title of the book you are searching for and hit "Search Catalog." If the title is listed, click on the Detail button to view the record. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and check the status of the book. If the book is listed as "available" or "due," you can request the book by hitting the "I Want It" button. Fill out the electronic request form and hit the "Place Hold" button, and the book will automatically be requested for you. If the book is "available," it will be shipped to York and should arrive within a week. If the book is "due," your request will prompt a recall of the book from whomever has it checked out. That person has ten days to return the book to the library, and then it will be sent to York campus for you to pick up. You will be notified when the book is ready for you to check out. If the book is listed as anything other than "available" or "due," please contact a staff member for further assistance.
If the title of the book is not listed, it is not owned by Penn State. However, you can request a copy of the book by using ILLiad. Or, you place an order through E-ZBorrow, accessible through the Databases By Title (A-Z List). The advantages of using E-ZBorrow are a longer loan period, the ability to renew the item through your library account, and the materials are shipped directly to the campus rather than through University Park.
