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Interlibrary Loan Guide

The Albertsons Library, Boise State University Interlibrary Loan LibGuide informs our patrons on how to navigate Interlibrary loan (ILL) privileges and answers general questions about Interlibrary loans.

Borrowing Services

Imaage of two buildings with an arrow between them.

Borrowing Services supports the research and teaching needs of Boise State University by providing students, staff, and faculty with a wide range of materials beyond the collections of Albertsons Library. ILL makes article delivery and short-term loans available from libraries and document suppliers on a local, statewide, national, and international basis.

How To Request An Item Through ILL?

Image of Albertsons Library Homepage.

  • After finding the item click Request Item Through Interlibrary Loan.
     

Image of book search results.

  • Log in to your Boise State Account.
  • You will be directed to the Interlibrary Loan Service page.

Interlibrary Request Page.

  • Please pay attention to the Notes and Special Instructions (information relating to potential classroom usage) fields.
  • Submit Request.

Start by logging into your Boise State University Albertsons Library Interlibrary Loan account.

Your home Interlibrary Loan Serice home page will be the first thing you see with the navigation menu on the left. You can start a new request for 

  1. Articles
  2. Books
  3. Book Chapters
  4. Conference Papers
  5. Thesis

Albertsons Library Homepage.

Other actions can happen from this page.

  • View 
  • Tools
  • The ability to see current or outstanding requests and the request's status.

Types Of Request

Image of different journals.

Interlibrary Loan service obtains copies of journal articles not available through Albertsons Library or the Library's databases. In most cases, the lending library will scan the article requested and email you the copy in PDF format.

Books stacked on each other.

For books that Albertsons Library owns, we can pull the book and put a hold on it for you to pick up. Unless you are a Distance Borrower, if you are a Distance Borrower, please refer to the Distance Borrower Tab.

If Albertsons Library does not own the book you have requested, Interlibrary Loan will request it from other libraries. It can take anywhere from 1-to 3 weeks for your request to arrive, and after the book comes, we will have you pick it up at the library.

The loan period for items borrowed on Interlibrary Loan is determined by the library lending the material. Standard loans are between 2-6 weeks but can sometimes be shorter or longer.

Open book.

If you only need a chapter from a book, you can request the chapter through Interlibrary Loan. The way to do this is to

  1. Log in to your Interlibrary Loan account.
  2. Select Book Chapter under New Request on the left side of the page.
  3. Fill out the form.
  4. Submit the request.

The lending library will often scan the chapter if it is 50 pages or less and email you the PDF. However, if the chapter is over 50 pages, the lending library will send the whole book. You will receive an email when the book is ready for you to pick up at Albertsons Library.

iPad sitting on a bookshelf.

Unfortunately, Lending Libraries usually can not loan eBooks due to their license agreements with vendors and publishers. However, some older eBooks are available through Open Access. If you are unsure, you can submit your request, and we will investigate for you.

Canceling A Request

Cancelled signs.

Until our staff has sent out your ILL request, you can cancel it through the ILL system. After the ILL request has been sent out, you need to call (208) 426-3827 or email (libraryill@boisestate.edu) to stop the request.

You can see your request's status in the Outstanding Request's Status section.

Outstanding Request example.

Thesis

A thesis or dissertation is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings. In some contexts, the word "thesis" is used for part of a bachelor's or master's course, while "dissertation" is normally applied to a doctorate. .  University libraries generally keep thesis and dissertations where the public can view them or request them through Interlibrary Loan. Some Thesis are also published and can be found in databases such as ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global or as Open Access documents.

You can request a Thesis through Interlibrary Loan. The way to do this is to

  1. Log in to your Interlibrary Loan account.
  2. Select Thesis under New Request on the left side of the page.
  3. Fill out the form.
  4. Submit the request.

The lending library will often scan the paper and email it to you. However, some lending libraries will mail the Thesis, and Albertsons library will notify you when the paper is ready for you to pick up.

Renewals

Image of Keep Calm and Renew Your Library Books

 Materials are eligible for renewal with the consent of the lending library. Items that are not renewable will be noted on the ILL label. Renewal requests must be placed four days before or four days after the due date. Overdue items are not eligible for renewal.  

How can you renew your interlibrary loan item?

You may renew through the Interlibrary Loan Service Logon by clicking the Renew Button or the Actions dropdown menu and clicking Renew.

You can also ask the Albertsons Library ILL staff to renew your item.

Image of Albertsons Library Renew Page.

 

Image of Albertsons Library Renew Page.