Interlibrary Loan / Resource Retrieval

Interlibrary Loan is available to current faculty, staff and students of Samford University; however, students of the Cumberland School of Law should contact the Beeson Law Library for interlibrary loan services.

Some materials not available in our collection may be borrowed from other libraries via the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service. The library must observe the lending policies of the lending library; we are unable to borrow some materials, and other materials may only be available in certain formats.

How long will this take?

Are there items I cannot borrow through ILL?

May I renew ILL materials?

Please note: Dissertations are not widely available and when they are, usually incur fees for the patron who requests the dissertation.

Beginning May 1, 2009, the University Library will offer Dissertation Express to all Samford faculty, staff, and students. Using this service, these patrons will be able to buy dissertations at 25% off the regular cost of a dissertation from the UMI express service. Payment for requested dissertations, which will be delivered to and held for pickup in the Interlibrary Loan office, must be made by check or in cash prior to the submission of an order to UMI. Cost per dissertation for faculty, staff, and students will be $30.00. To take advantage of this discount, patrons should submit their dissertation requests through ILLiad indicating in the NOTES field that payment may be expected by a certain date. When payment is received, the dissertation will be ordered.

To purchase a dissertation independent of library services and without the library discount, please check UMI's Dissertation Services.

Information for Faculty, Adjunct Faculty*, and Staff

You may place Interlibrary Loan or Resource Retrieval requests by clicking on the button above to complete the online request forms in ILLiad.

Books and articles from journals, either obtained via ILL or located in our library, can be delivered to the departmental office of faculty/staff via the Resource Retrieval Service. This service is available only to faculty and staff of Samford University. To make a Resource Retrieval request, use ILLiad by clicking on the button above.

*Adjunct faculty are eligible for ILL privileges during the semester in which they are teaching.

For more information, please email or call 726-2983.

Information for Students

All students may request materials from other libraries via Interlibrary Loan (ILL). To use this service, you do not need to know where the materials are located; we will locate them for you. Please click on the button above to fill out an ILL form in ILLiad for each request you place.

ILL will engage in only free or low-fee ILL for freshman and sophomore students. Requests that exceed cost will not be purchased for freshmen or sophomores. Freshman and sophomore students will be offered the option to pay for the borrowing of these materials. Charges may include copyright fees as applicable.

Freshmen and sophomores who wish to pay for the borrowing of articles, books, or other materials, may pay for these items in the Interlibrary Office during normal business hours. The ILL office is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Payment and delivery of materials for which freshmen choose to pay will not take place outside of these hours. Payment will be accepted in cash or by personal check addressed to Samford University.

With some exceptions (below), we do not deliver materials to students. Some materials are delivered to our library in electronic format; we will send those items to students' email accounts in electronic format whenever possible. ILL material not delivered electronically will be held at the University Library. These items can be picked up all hours that the University Library is open from the Circulation Desk on the 1st Floor. For more information, please email or call 726-2983.

Exceptions Students in the following programs or students who meet the following specified year requirements, may have articles and book chapters delivered to their mailing addresses, FAX numbers, or email accounts.

• Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership
• Doctor of Ministry
• Doctor of Nursing Practice
• Doctor of Pharmacy - Year IV
• Master of Science in Nursing (not including Nurse Anesthesia MSN)

Some articles and book chapters are delivered to our library in electronic format; we will send those items to students' email accounts in electronic format whenever possible. We will mail articles and book chapters when they cannot be sent electronically.

This delivery service includes only articles and book chapters, or other short pieces deemed appropriate by ILL staff; all other materials must still be picked up at the University Library. These items can be picked up all hours that the University Library is open from the Circulation Desk on the 1st Floor.

This delivery service does not include delivery of materials to students while they are on campus. For more information, please email or call 726-2983.

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1. Who may use Interlibrary Loan?
   Interlibrary Loan is available to current faculty, staff and students of Samford University; however, students of the Cumberland School of Law should contact the Beeson Law Library for interlibrary loan services.If you are not a current faculty member, staff member, or student, you should contact your local public library for Interlibrary Loan services.
2. What can I request through Interlibrary Loan?
   Books, monographs, theses, and microfilmed newspapers can usually be borrowed. As long as copyright laws are observed, photocopies and electronic copies of periodical articles can be borrowed.
3. Are there items I cannot borrow through ILL?
   Generally, the following are not available for loan:
   • reference books,
   • print copies of SU Library e-books,
   • audiovisual materials,
   • periodical volumes or single issues of periodicals,
   • multiple copies for class, reserve, or group use,
   • textbooks required for a class,
   • recent, unmicrofilmed newspapers,
   • items of unusual value or rarity,
   • books published during the current year,
   • and genealogical materials.
   There are also certain other categories of materials that other libraries may not loan.
4. How do I request materials?
   A form is available from the link at the top of this page. Please fill out one form per request. Please do not submit long lists of materials by e-mail or in person.
5. What is ILLiad?
   
6. How long will it take?
   Length of time from submission to delivery really varies greatly. Sometimes several libraries must be contacted before we find one that will lend the material you want. You should always assume an average of two weeks per request. Most requests are filled within 7-10 days, but delays are common. There is no guarantee that your request will be filled. Also, a sudden increase in the number of requests from the campus will cause delays. At certain times of the semester, requests may take longer to fill simply due to the increase in requests we receive as assignments are made.
7. How will I know when my ILL materials are here?
   You will be notified by e-mail when your materials are ready for pickup. ALL faculty and staff materials will be delivered. Items delivered electronically will usually be sent to you electronically; print or other non-electronic formats will be held at the library for you to pick up, or, in the case of faculty or staff, delivered.
8. May I renew ILL materials?
   Yes! When it's time to turn in your ILL materials, you can request a renewal online:
   
   
   1. Log in to ILLiad.
   2. Click on "View/Renew Checked Out Items" in the ILLiad main menu.
   3. Select the transaction number of the item you wish to renew.
   4. In the upper left-hand menu, click "Request Renewal."
   5. Your request will be sent to the ILL office even if you see a message stating that further renewals are not allowed.
   6. ILL will contact the lender, who will either approve or deny the renewal request.