The Inter-Library Loan (ILL) Service allows users to borrow items such as Books, Journal Articles and Theses from other libraries. Material in electronic format can also be sourced using ILL.
Requests can be submitted at the library desk or by using the appropriate online form. (See links below).
Undergraduate Students: Students are entitled to two free book loans per year from other Institutes of Technology in Ireland.
All other requests by students are charged:
The fees are payable when the Item is picked up. Please note that users will be charged the fee if they fail to pickup the ILL.
Postgraduate Students: 10 free requests per year.
Staff: 20 free requests per year.
Journal articles: Earliest retrieval within 48-64 hours though some articles can take up to a period of 5-7 working days.
Books: The delivery of books can take between 5 and 10 days. Patrons are notified by email when items are available for collection in the library. You will also be contacted by email in the event of any problem or delay in the processing of your request.
Theses: UK PhD theses are generally available for purchase/download from the British Library's EThOS service, and are not available for inter-library loan. For theses not available through EThOS or for Masters and other types of postgraduate thesis, a normal application should be made.
Theses from Irish libraries (including Northern Ireland) are usually available only if the relevant university or institute library holds a copy. Readers are advised to check the library catalogue before applying. Inter-library loan theses can only be consulted/read in the Institute library.
Journal articles: These are print-outs and do not need to be returned.
Books: The loan duration for most books is 2-4 weeks.
Renewals: Loan extensions should be requested before the due date and will usually be granted, unless the item has a waiting list.
We advise all users to take particular care with items borrowed through the inter-library loan system. Not only could the institute's borrowing rights be affected, but there are substantial fines and replacement costs incurred for lost items which must be paid by the borrower responsible.
For further information and assistance please do not hesitate to contact the ILL Staff at: illadmin@staff.ittralee.ie