Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary loan (ILL) assists scholarly research by obtaining library materials unavailable at the University of Evansville Libraries. ILL personnel locate requested materials in other libraries, borrowing items and/or obtaining copies on behalf of eligible UE students, faculty, staff and administrators. ILL users are responsible for the safe return of books/loans to the Information Desk. Failure to observe ILL rules may result in the loss of borrowing privileges.

ILL requests can be made, tracked and accessed on QUILL, UEL's new ILL portal. Use your existing UE network account (full email address and password) to log in. More information about QUILL can be found in the QUILL User Manual.

  1. Who is eligible to borrow materials?
  2. What materials can be requested?
  3. What is the cost?
  4. How to place requests
  5. Request forms
  6. How do I know if my requests were submitted?
  7. How long will it take?
  8. How long can materials be kept?
  9. Renewing ILL books
  10. How will I be contacted when materials arrive?
  11. How do I delete a request?

Who is eligible to borrow materials?

The ILL service is available to currently enrolled UE students and currently employed faculty, staff and administrators. Library users are encouraged to consult the Research Assistance librarian to determine if the information is available at UE.

What materials can be requested?

Many materials, such as books, videos, and journal articles, are available from lending libraries. Though we will attempt to fill most requests, the following types of material are often difficult to obtain:

  • Recently published items
  • Entire volumes or issues of periodicals, especially if less than 3 years old
  • Reference works
  • Rare books and original manuscripts
  • Newspapers and other bulky materials in their original format
  • Audiovisual materials and computer software
  • Works of genealogy or heraldry
  • Dissertations and theses from outside North America

Textbooks, study guides and workbooks cannot be requested.

What is the cost?

The ILL department covers most costs so this service is essentially FREE. However, if the cost exceeds $20, the ILL department will contact you about covering the difference.

How to place requests

Verify that the required material is not owned by the University of Evansville Libraries by checking Fulltext Finder and QUEST. Complete an ILL request for each item needed by using one of the forms below or by clicking Find it @ UE! when viewing a citation in one of UEL's databases.

Request forms

Request forms for different material types can be found on QUILL.

How do I know if my requests were submitted?

All successfully submitted requests sent via Quest or Find it @ UE! display a "ILL Request was Successful" message. Look for it. Additionally, requests will appear in QUILL with a status of submitted. As ILL staff act on your request, its updated status will be automatically displayed in QUILL.

How long will it take?

For books/loans, it may take 5-7 days to receive materials, depending on its location and availability. Materials located in Indiana libraries typically arrive within 5 working days. If we have to go out-of-state, materials usually arrive within 9.5 working days. For articles/book chapters, we usually receive most copies within 3 days.

Because we cannot predict the location or availability of an item, we cannot guarantee that material will be received within a specified time period. Borrowers are encouraged to submit ILL requests well in advance of deadlines.

How long can materials be kept?

The loan period is usually four weeks and will be indicated on the purple book strap encircling each ILL book. Due dates are determined by the lending library and cannot be changed. PDFs of journal articles are emailed to the user and do not have to be returned.

The lending library may also specify conditions for use of materials, such as "no copying permitted", "No Renewals" or "IN-LIBRARY use only". These restrictions will be noted on the purple book strap.

Renewing ILL books

ILL staff automatically request renewals for all patrons' books/loans. UEL allows patrons to renew ILL books ONE TIME. You will get an email from ILL staff listing the new due date or a message noting that the lending library would not renew the item. Some libraries are not willing to grant renewals, so please plan to pick up and use ILL materials promptly. If you have any questions, please email loansrus@evansville.edu.

How will I be contacted when materials arrive?

When loans are received, the borrower is notified by email or text and its status is updated to RECEIVED with a DUE DATE in QUILL. Items may be picked up at the Information Desk when the library is open (hours). Journal articles and book chapters are received as PDFs and are available for download in QUILL.

ILL books will be sent back to the lending library if not picked up within 2 weeks of receipt.

How do I delete a request?

If you need to delete or cancel an ILL request, simply click the cancel button in QUILL. If the item is in transit, you will be unable to cancel it. Please contact the ILL staff at 812-488-1062 or email loansrus@evansville.edu.