Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service enables you to

• borrow a book that Cook library or other USM Libraries * does not own.
• request articles from journals that Cook does not own or is not available online

  * You can request books owned by other USMAI Libraries through the USMAI library catalog.

Patrons may request:

• books
• articles
• materials on microfilm
• multimedia required for research
• and many other types of materials

Please note that these items may difficult to borrow:

• genealogy materials
• music scores
• corporate technical reports and other in-house reports
• some high-demand and/or recent publications
• theses and dissertations: a few universities do not loan them or restrict their use when they do

Items such as these are not available through ILL:

• items owned by another USMAI library
• textbooks
• reference materials
• entire issues of journals, magazines, and newspapers
• old (published prior to 1800) or rare books
• record albums
• software
• CDs, audio cassettes, video cassettes/DVDs, - for recreational use (for these items please try a video rental store or a public library)
• leisure or recreational reading (please consult your local public library)
• fraglie or bulky items
• Items to difficult or too expensive to send

ILLiad is the online service you use to request a book or article that the library does not own. See the ILLIad FAQ for more information.

You can access ILLiad several ways:

• Login using the login box to the right on this page
• Login now at the Illiad login page
• Use the ILLiad Login link from the Quick Tools on the Cook Library website
• Download the Cook Library toolbar for Internet Explorer and Firefox and have access anytime regardless of the website you are visiting

Most items are received within ten days to two weeks. The ILL Office staff makes every effort to obtain materials by the requested deadline. Please keep in mind that the ILL Office will not borrow bulky or fragile items that are difficult or too expensive to send.

Usually, there is no charge for ILL requests. In rare cases, due to a high number of requests or the amount a lending library may charge, either the individual or the department (for faculty) will be required to absorb the cost.

You make requests using the ILLiad system. To use ILLiad, you must create an ILLiad account, You will also be able to use a Web browser to view the status of your requests.

To learn more about ILLiad:

• Read the ILLiad FAQ
• To create an ILLIad account, go to the ILLiad Login page