Journal Subciting Guide: WHEN TO USE ILL (Research Center Interlibrary Loan Service)

ILL allows you to request material from participating libraries that are not held at FSU and are not part of the Florida state university and college system.  Requests submitted to ILL take longer to fulfill, so plan accordingly.

ILL is available at to you, as law students at FSU, at no charge. However, it is NOT free: the Research Center pays a fee for each such request.

Therefore, ILL should always be the the last step in your search for sources and one that you take only if you can't find the book or article in our catalog or through UBorrow.

1. E-mail your request to ILL@law.fsu.edu.

2. Your request must include:

• The author's full name (or the full name(s) of the editor(s), if the resource is an compilation);
• The item's full title;
• The publisher's name;
• The year of publication;
• If you do not need the entire item, the specific page numbers (for example, you may need only a few pages, or a specific chapter); and
• The date by which you need the item.

ILL will then see if the item is available from another library.  Shipping whole books takes time (up to two weeks), but lending libraries may not be able to scan large page ranges, so make sure you plan ahead.

DO NOT USE THE AUTOMATIC ILL REQUEST FUNCTION AVAILABLE THROUGH THE CATALOG! THAT WILL SEND YOUR REQUEST TO THE FSU MAIN CAMPUS LIBRARY INSTEAD OF THE RESEARCH CENTER, AND THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FULFILL IT.

You will receive an e-mail from the Research Center when material requested through ILL is available for pick up.  Ask for your items at the Circulation Desk.

• Each ILL item will have a bookstrap affixed to its cover.  PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE IT. 
  • The bookstrap will state:
    • an ID number that was emailed to you in response to your request
    • state your name; and
    • state the item's due date
  • The lending library determines the due date

You are responsible for returning items before they are due.