University Library > Guides > How to Borrow from Other Libraries

How to Borrow From Other Libraries

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Interlibrary Loan Services

The University Library has three interlibrary loan services. The two described here, Universal Borrowing (UB) and Interlibrary Loan (ILL), allow current UW-Whitewater students, faculty and staff to borrow items from other libraries. The third service, Document Delivery (DD), allows faculty, staff, graduate students and distance education students to have print articles from the University Library delivered to them online. DD will not be described in this guide due to space constraints. For more information, visit the Interlibrary Loan Service webpage http://library.uww.edu/services/loanserv.html#dd.

Universal Borrowing

UB is a free service that allows UW-W faculty, staff and students to borrow books, videos, CDs, DVDs, microforms, government documents, etc. from any UW System library, and have them sent to any other UW System library for pick-up. All UW campuses participate, although certain items are not available via UB, including: McNaughton books, special collections, periodicals (journals, magazines and newspapers), periodical articles, reference and other non-circulating materials.

General Information

  • Materials usually take 2-4 weekdays to arrive
  • Materials not picked up within 10 days are returned to the home library
  • You will be notified using your UW-W email account when items are ready for checkout at the library Circulation Desk. There is no need to wait for this notice; your Personal Record in the Catalog shows when items have arrived.
  • The system does NOT send notifications when a request cannot be filled; however, it will be noted in your Personal Record in the Catalog
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Select Catalogs to Search

Beginning on any Library webpage:

  1. Click on My Accounts
  2. Under Personal Record/UB Account, type in your UW-W ID number (middle 7-digits on your HawkCard) and last name, the click on the Login button
  3. Click on UB & Other Catalogs in the upper left-hand corner
  4. From the Universal Borrowing Libraries menu, select individual libraries or All UB Libraries
    • Use the [Ctrl] key on the keyboard to select multiple catalogs
    • Use the [Shift] key on the keyboard to select a range of catalogs
  5. Click on the Connect button

Search Catalogs

  1. Type terms in the Search For box using the search tips at the bottom of the display or in the How to Use the Library Catalog: 1. Basic Search guide
  2. Select an option from the Search By menu
  3. Click on the Search button

Display Search Results

On the Simultaneous Searching display, the campuses whose catalogs are being searched will be listed under Database Name (Eau Claire, La Crosse, etc.). In the Search Status column, the number of records found at each campus will be listed when the searching is completed. When each campus’ Search Status indicates Done, click on Show at the bottom of the column to see the list of results. Each record in this list includes the title, author and campus that holds it.

Click on a title link to see the Brief View of the item record. This display includes more information, such as whether a copy is available. If at least one Status field reads Not Checked Out you may attempt to request it.

Request an Item

  1. Click on Requests at the top or bottom of the Brief View display
  2. On the Type of Request display click on the OK button
  3. On the Request display, enter your UW-W ID number again for verification
  4. Click on the Submit Request button when finished
  5. A message will state whether your request has succeeded or failed
  6. A request may fail because it is already checked out, does not circulate or is not available for UB. If the request fails, click on the back to record button and select a new library and location (if available) or click on the Titles button to return to the list of titles and then click on another title
  7. To borrow another item, click on the New Search button, then repeat the Search, Display and Request procedures
  8. When done, click on Return to University Library Catalog and Logout
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Check Your Personal Record

It is a good idea to check on the status of your requests after a few days using your Personal Record. You may come in and pick items up after they are received at the University Library. It is not necessary to wait to be notified.

  1. In the Library Catalog click on the Personal Record button
  2. Type your UW-W ID number and your last name in the boxes indicated and click on Login
  3. The Status column shows the status of each request (ex. accepted, printed, denied, expiration date of request, etc.). When an item is ready for pick up, the status shows Circulation
  4. To stop an unfilled request, check the box in the Cancel? column and click on the Cancel Requests button
  5. To renew an item, click in the box preceding its record in the Renew? column and then click on the Renew Items button. An item may not be renewed if the renewal limit has been reached or another patron has already requested it
  6. When done, click on the Logout button for security
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Interlibrary Loan

ILLiad is an automated online Interlibrary Loan service that allows UW-Whitewater students, faculty and staff to borrow books, videos, CDs, DVDs, tapes, records, government documents, microfilm and periodical articles not owned by the University Library from local, national and international libraries.

ILLiad may be reached two ways. From any Library webpage click on My Accounts in the upper right-hand corner. When using Find It, click on ILLiad under Interlibrary Loan on the menu. When reaching ILLiad via Find It the fields are automatically completed.

General Information

  • Use Internet Explorer®; ILLiad does not work with Netscape® and may not work with other browsers
  • The typical fee is $1 per item requested and received. If an item will cost more, you will be alerted to the cost ahead of time via UW-W email
  • Articles usually take 3-5 weekdays to arrive, and are made available online in your ILLiad account for 30 days. Adobe Acrobat Reader® is used to view the PDF files. To download this program for free, click on the Acrobat Reader link on the bottom of any Library webpage.
  • Books and other items usually take about 5-7 weekdays to arrive.
  • You will be notified using your UW-W email account when items are available. It is not necessary to wait for this notice; use the View/Modify Outstanding Requests option in ILLiad to check the progress of your requests.
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Request an Item When in a Database

Periodical articles may be ordered using the link to ILLiad that appears on the Find It Menu of Services. This menu appears in databases that are connected by the Find It software.

The Find It button appears in most, but not all, UW-W subscription databases. If there is no full text available in the database being searched, in most databases the Find It button shows up either on the list of records, or in the item records. Not all the databases that have the Find It functionality use this button however, some use a Find It, Searching for Full Text or Check Local Holdings link. A few databases, such as those from LexisNexis, do not support this function, so there is no button or link.

  1. Click on the button or link to open the Find It Menu of Services
  2. Check for full text availability. If there is none at the library, the ILLiad link will be included in the menu options. Click on this link.
  3. Type your UW-W ID number (middle-7 digits on your HawkCard) and last name in appropriate boxes and click on the Logon to ILLiad button
  4. Click on the Request a Photocopy button and the form will automatically be filled out
  5. Click on the Submit Request button
  6. To logout, click on Exit to Main Menu, then on Exit ILLiad System

Request an Item Manually

Beginning on any Library webpage:

  1. Click My Accounts in the header bar.
  2. Type your UW-W ID number (middle-7 digits on your HawkCard) and last name in appropriate boxes and click on the Logon to ILLiad button
  3. To request:
    • An article, click on the Request a Photocopy button
    • A book or other item, click on the Request a Book button
  4. Fill out all the required fields and any others you know the answer to. The more complete the information submitted, the better the chance that it will be located. It is possible to copy and paste information from online resources to complete the ILLiad form.
  5. Click on the Submit Request button
  6. To logout, click on Exit to Main Menu, then on Exit ILLiad System

Check On Your Request

Beginning on any Library webpage, click on My Accounts in the header bar and logon, then:

  • To track a request, click on View/Modify Outstanding Requests
  • To renew an item (if allowed), click on View/Renew Checked Out Items
  • To view an article, click on View/Download Electronically Received Articles

Fees

  • There is a minimum $1.00 fee per filled request
  • A $15.00 fee is charged for items not checked out within 15 days of receipt
  • Accrued charges are regularly sent to Student Billing where a processing fee of $0.50 is added. Avoid this fee by paying for books and other items when checked out, and by paying for electronically received articles right away
  • Faculty who provide ORG codes for chargebacks using the Edit User Accounts option on the Main Menu, may have fees billed to their department, or to their individual patron record if chargebacks are not permitted
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For assistance, contact a reference librarian at (262) 472-1032, by email or chat or in person at the Library's Reference Desk.

Last Revised: MS - 11/19/2007