Interlibrary Loan, or ILL, is a library service for students, faculty, and staff that lets you access millions of research materials for free. If you find a journal article or book you'd like to have for your research, and the library doesn't have the full text, you can request that item from another library.
Learn how to request an item through interlibrary loan below.
Search for your item using OneSearch.
Sign in by clicking "sign in" at the top right of the page. If you're already signed into Hood, e.g., Microsoft365, you should be able to sign into the library without entering any credentials. If you're not signed into Hood, you will be prompted to do so, which will sign you into your library account.
Select the “expand your search” option. This will allow you to view resources held by other libraries.
Find and select the item you’re looking for.
Under the “Get it from other Locations” heading, select “Get it.”
Confirm your information is correct and then hit send!
First, check Google Scholar to see if you can access your item for free online.
If not, return to your OneSearch results page and select “Still Didn’t Find What You Need? Click Here to Send a Request.” This link is located between the search bar and the list of search results. Complete the form using as much detail as possible. Keep in mind that it’s usually challenging to acquire full ebooks to loan. You will have more success—and faster results— if you request a specific chapter.
Generally, within a day or two, and they come straight to your email.
Books can take a week to ten days, so plan your research accordingly.
The newer editions of textbooks that are used in classes are not typically available to loan, and therefore we are unable to fulfill those requests through ILL.
If there's an older edition of a textbook you wish to use as supplemental reading or research, we may be able to request the item for you, depending upon its availability.
You can check the status of your request(s) at any time by logging in to your library account. Once logged in, go to “My Requests.” From here, you can check the status of a request, cancel requests, and download articles. You can also review your request history to see what you've borrowed in the past.
Download articles from your account, and they're yours to keep.
Books are typically loaned for a period between 30 - 90 days.
To request a renewal, please log in to your library account before the due date and select "Loans" from the menu. If the item you'd like to renew does not appear in the list of items in your ILL account, please contact the ILL department (ill@hood.edu) to request a renewal.