Interlibrary Loan: What Is It and Why Does It Rock?

I open the tote patiently, taking a deep breath and smiling. I pull the books out, sometimes packaged and sometimes not, and sort them into piles. This pile is for books that our patrons requested, and that pile of books is from a requesting library and sent back to us.

You may wonder: “You work at a library (as a mercenary librarian, no less!). Of course, there are books. Why are you getting excited by books in a tote?”

Because dear reader, these are not just any books, but books via interlibrary loan!

What is interlibrary loan (or ILL, as those of us in the know call it)? ILL-ing a book is the act of requesting a book your library does not have from another library. Your library checks other libraries in your city, county, or state (sometimes out of state) for your book. They make the request to a library that has the item and then accept (or deny) the request. If they accept the request, the book will be shipped to your library, and you’ll be notified when it arrives.

Michigan’s ILL system (Michigan eLibrary [or MeL]) connects libraries (public, academic, and specialty) across the state. The patron can either log in to MeL’s website and make the request for themselves, or they can have a library do it for them.

Some ILL systems (like MeL) let you borrow books, DVDs, and CDs and request them yourself. However, in other library systems (such as the state of Kentucky), the ILL procedure is handled only by the library, and some items, such as graphic novels or DVDs, cannot be requested.

(Stop the presses! As I write this, I remembered a book I wanted to read that wasn’t available at my library, so I did an ILL via MeL. Boom! Within a week, I’ll have the book in my hot little hands.)

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OK, where were we?

A small library I work at heavily promotes MeL, so it’s not unusual for our patrons to get three or more totes every delivery day. Another small library I work at (I work at a few libraries in my county) does not promote MeL as heavily, so they get between one-half and one full tote every delivery day.

With MeL, the shipping time between libraries is typically a week (Michigan is a big state), while in Kentucky, ILLs can take up to six weeks to get to you.

How many items can I ILL, and how long do I have them? Not surprisingly, the answer is: It depends! In Michigan, the number of ILLs you can do is up to seventy active items at a time. The sending library plans on the book being out for about six weeks: one week to process and ship, four weeks for lending, and another week to ship back. In Kentucky, it’s only three items per calendar month, and the length of loan time varies from library to library.

Another difference between Michigan and Kentucky is that you can renew an item once in Michigan, but you cannot renew the item in Kentucky.

(If you’re wondering why I’m comparing Michigan to Kentucky, I’m a Michigan native who lived in Kentucky for a few years before coming back to my home state.)

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Now the question is, why does ILL rock?

Can you imagine a world where 99 percent of the books you wanted to read were available to get even if your library does not have them? Because not all the things are online! (Shocking, I know, but true!) You want a 1925 book by Anita Loos (which I just ILL’d)? Done. It’ll be here in a week. A copy of the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice DVD because it’s checked out at your library? Done. You’ll be watching Michael Keaton in no time.

Any topic is at your fingertips. The best part? It’s all free! (Don’t exactly quote me on this, as the libraries I’ve used for ILL have been free, although I have heard of, but did not find, libraries that charge.)

One thing to keep in mind is that electronic resources such as ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and databases are typically not available for ILL. Why? The cost of electronic items is typically calculated based on the number of patrons a library has. If that library opened its electronic resources to the public at large, it would need to recalculate its patron usage, which would drive up the price. Electronic resources can be very expensive.

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Another reason why ILLs rock is that you’re supporting your local library (and the requesting library) by your use. You are more than likely also going to check out items from your library in addition to your ILL. The requesting library can gauge keeping that particular item in their catalog by how often it gets checked out. It also shows the community at large that there are additional reasons (and resources) why they keep the library in that community.

Sometimes, libraries don’t advertise on their website if they do ILLs, even if they offer it. Find out if your library has this service by searching for “interlibrary loan” on their website. Even if it is not listed on your library’s website, ask your librarian if it is available, as not all libraries list this service on their website.

So, whether you’re looking for a Criterion movie that is not streaming, a copy of a Colleen Hoover book, or even a German translation of Kafka, ILL is where you need to go!

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