Interlibrary Loan and Digital Delivery

We offer access to materials needed for course work and scholarly research, including materials not currently available within the University of Minnesota Libraries, and digital copies of articles and book chapters from our print and microform collections.

Manage my requests

New options in Libraries Search

As of March 4, 2024, requests submitted through Libraries Search will present options for requesting content unavailable in the University of Minnesota's collections or digitizations of local print materials. These request methods are tied to a new, enhanced Libraries search with additional resources from participating libraries that agree to support the same delivery times and generous loan periods. Learn more about how to use the new request options

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Create a request

Request a title using a blank form

Article Book Book chapter Thesis Other

Search for a title to place the request

Other types of requests

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About

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) & Digital Delivery offers access to materials needed for course work and scholarly research, including:

  • materials not currently available within the University of Minnesota Libraries,
  • and digital copies of articles and book chapters from our print and microform collections.

These services are free for currently-affiliated University students, faculty, and staff.

About UBorrow

UBorrow searches 15+ major research libraries (Big Ten Academic Alliance institutions). UBorrow is a great way to search for books and media (CDs, DVDs and even LPs!). 

Requested materials usually arrive within 1 week and can be borrowed for 16 weeks with one 4-week renewal (they are not recalled except under unusual circumstances). Media items may have a shorter loan period.

The service is offered by the member institutions of the BTAA, which is comprised of the universities of the Big Ten Conference as well as the University of Chicago. Materials from the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) may also be requested.

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Contact us

Contact Interlibrary Loan & Digital Delivery staff for inquiries on requests, overdue items, lost books, incorrect items received, and other request issues.

To ensure that your correspondence is answered promptly, please direct all questions to wilsill@umn.edu.

Main Office
65L Wilson library
309 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: 612-624-1806
Email: wilsill@umn.edu

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Help

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) & Digital Delivery offers free access to materials needed for course work and scholarly research that are not currently available within the University of Minnesota Libraries and digital copies of articles and book chapters from our print and microform collections.

Who may use Interlibrary Loan and Digital Delivery

Available to students, staff, and faculty of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus, as well as Extension, Research and Outreach Centers, and Itasca or Hormel Institutes with active borrowing privileges.

Friends of the Library and Special Privilege Card holders are not eligible for the university’s interlibrary loan services but may request materials through their local public library.

University of Minnesota Law School affiliates should use the Law Library's Interlibrary Loan & Scan on Demand service.

Cost

Content is delivered with no charge. 

Interlibrary Loan material due dates

The due dates of ILL items are determined by the lending libraries and indicated on the book strip attached to the front of the material. 

Requestable materials and renewals

  • Primarily books, dissertations, government publications, and photocopies of articles. Current periodicals or newspapers, rare books, new books, videos, and recordings may be unavailable.
  • Interlibrary Loan will attempt to borrow textbooks.  If a textbook arrives from a Big Ten Library, it may be borrowed for 16 weeks with at least a 4-week renewal. Other libraries may only lend for 4 to 6 weeks.
  • All ILL materials are checked out in the main Library Account. Renewal requests can be submitted within My Library Account by clicking on the "Renew" button next to the title. You will receive a notice within 24 hours with the new due date. If the renew request is denied, we will contact you with the due date assigned by the lending library. 

Digital Delivery policies

  • The service will scan a small portion, article or chapter from print material, microfilm and fiche held within our collection.
  • If an item is not found on the shelf, the request will be filled through Interlibrary Loan, who will obtain the item from another library (typically within 1-3 days).
  • Books on reserve for classes are not available for digitization.
  • The University of Minnesota Libraries reserves the right to cancel requests in some circumstances, such as a request exceeding 75 pages, or other requests that may put undue strain on resources. We will contact you if we are unable to fulfill your request.

Other document scanning services

Time until requests arrive

  • Books: average 3 to 10 days
  • Articles and book chapters: average 1 to 3 days

Length of time varies depending on availability, shipping, and other factors. Please request materials with ample time before your deadline.

Request status

Sign into your ILL account under Manage my requests or contact the Interlibrary Loan office to find the status of your request.

Notifications

All notices and messages are sent via email. You will be notified via email when articles are available for download within your ILL account. 

On campus pick up locations and delivery

Damaged or lost materials

For damaged or lost materials,  please notify the Interlibrary Loan office immediately.

Return long overdue materials to avoid replacement fees. 

Things to consider: 

  • Lending libraries might accept a new, same edition copy.
  • When an item is 30 days overdue, the system will automatically add a $100 replacement fee to your library account. Contact the ILL office directly with questions related to ILL fines: wilsill@umn.edu.

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For libraries

Lending services for libraries Lending information specifically for folks working in libraries.

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Accessibility details

Digital documents are scanned with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to make the text available (currently we cannot OCR Chinese, Japanese, and Korean). However, the documents may not be accurate and often do not have document structure for headings, alternate text for images, or bullets. 

For physical materials, you may use the proxy service to identify someone else to pick up materials on your behalf, or you could request office or home delivery. 

Contact

If an Interlibrary Loan item is inaccessible or needed in a different format, please contact willsill@umn.edu.

Software

When placing a request starting through a vendor service (such as a database), the Libraries cannot guarantee the third parties' websites are accessible. The University of Minnesota participates in the Library Accessibility Alliance that works directly with vendors to provide accessibility audits to encourage them to be more accessible.

The Libraries’ Interlibrary Loan website is tested for WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility.

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