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Interlibrary Loan


Our Services

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is an agreement among libraries to share library resources needed for research. WKU faculty, staff and students may use ILL as a supplement to the WKU Libraries.  Books, journal articles, dissertations, government documents, microfilm materials, and other items may be borrowed via ILL. We are located on the fourth floor Raymond Cravens Library (Commons at Cravens).

 

Check One Search online catalog and our  E-Journals to be certain we do not own the material you are requesting.
Here are some helpful hints:

    • Check the online catalog under both author and title
    • Check our  E-Journals holdings to make sure we don't have the article available online.

We may have the material, even if it is not on the online catalog. Please reach out to our reference desk at 270-745-6125 for more information.

 


How much does ILL cost?

All costs incurred for Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests are paid for from the WKU Libraries budget. There is no charge to our faculty, staff, and students.


How long does it take to get the material?

With electronic delivery, most articles will take 1 or 2 days. If the lending library mails us the article, it will take longer. Typically, it takes 2-4 weeks to receive requested books (which are usually sent via US Mail); however, it may take longer depending upon workloads of WKU and lending libraries' ILL offices, completeness of the citation given, and availability of requested material. In order to have the request filled in time, it is important that you indicate a deadline date on the request form.

ILL may have difficulty obtaining recently published books from other libraries. It may be better for you to request that your library liaison purchase it for the WKU Libraries' collection.


Where can I retrieve my materials?

Physical materials can be obtained at the circulation desk on the fourth floor of Cravens Library during regular library hours.


Are there any restrictions?

ILL policies restrict the following:

We regret that we cannot fill requests for textbooks currently being used at WKU or materials for course reserves.  Copyright law and international Interlibrary Loan codes may place restrictions on what materials may be borrowed.  Budgetary restraints dictate that we must limit ILL requests per patron to 5 per day with a maximum of 25 per week.

Due to security concerns electronic delivery of articles must be restricted to official WKU email accounts.

For additional information please contact Kathy Foushee at 270-745-4241 or the Circulation Desk at 270-745-3951

 

Your ILL Account

Book  Articles  Other


Forgot NetID or Password?

Interlibrary Loan Accounts are accessed with your NetID. If you have difficulty logging into your Interlibrary Loan Account, please reset your account at the link above.


Some of the links on this page may require additional software to view.

 Last Modified 3/29/22