Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad)

MHC uses the ILLiad Interlibrary Loan service to borrow materials from other libraries. All currently enrolled students, faculty and staff of Mount Holyoke College may use this service.

Use ILLiad to request:

• Books that are not in the Five Colleges
  (for books in the five colleges, use Five College Borrowing through the library catalog)
• Journal articles that are not available at MHC
• Conference papers, dissertations, essays within books, and other text-based materials.

Interlibrary Loan will not be able to get:

• Whole journal issues
• Reference books
• Rare or fragile materials
• Items held at the Five College Library Depository. (Use the Depository's forms to request books and journal articles.)
• Videos/DVD's (Use the Video Request Form instead.)

To submit a request, log on to ILLiad.
(First time users will have to set up an account before making a request.)
Once signed in to ILLiad, select the appropriate form depending on what type of materials you need and fill in the requested information.

• For Books
  You will receive an email message when your book arrives at MHC. You may pick it up at the Circulation Desk.
  Return the books to the Mount Holyoke Library.
• For Articles
  You will receive an electronic copy, whenever possible. Otherwise a photocopy will be sent to your campus mailbox.

Please Remember:

• Before you submit a request, check to be sure MHC doesn’t have what you need. Use the library catalog for books and paper versions of journals. Use the e-journal locator to check for possible access to an online version.
• Use ILLiad to request books that are not in the Five Colleges or to request articles from journals, whether in the Five Colleges or not.
• Mount Holyoke College is also obligated to honor any special restrictions that the lender imposes such as in-library use only, no photocopying, no renewals, written permission of the dissertation or theses writer required before the item is made available. In all cases, the restrictions or the due dates will be clearly indicated on the paperwork that accompanies the item.
• On occasion, items are recalled. Patrons will be notified by email or by phone. Failure to return requested items in good time can result in overdue fines and restrictions of ILL useage. If your book is recalled and you are not finished, please contact the ILL Department. We will make every effort to locate another copy.

Turnaround time varies. Photocopies from one of the other 5 College libraries could arrive within 5 days. Items borrowed from outside of the consortium might take up to two weeks. Add a few days during peak times of the semester. If the request passes through several libraries before a lender is found, it can take even longer. Plan ahead and allow 2 weeks for ILL requests to be filled.

Can I renew Interlibrary Loan books?

Usually, yes. Log on to ILLiad to request a renewal.