Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary Loan is available to current University of Chicago faculty, students, and staff, including Medical Center Staff.

With Interlibrary Loan, users can request otherwise unavailable articles, chapters, books, and other media from libraries around the world.

We also provide scans of articles and chapters in the UChicago Library's general collections via Scan & Deliver.

See Interlibrary Loan FAQ for more details.

Sign in to your Interlibrary Loan account to monitor the status of your interlibrary loan requests or submit a manual request (requests submitted this way may take longer to process).

Login to ILL Account

Request Articles and Chapters

Check Online First

Many articles and a large number of books are already available electronically through our subscriptions.

How do I find articles? can help you locate resources in journals, magazines, and newspapers.

How do I find ebooks? can help you with book chapters.

Available in Print but not Online

Is it not online? Get it scanned from our print collections within 4 business days via Scan and Deliver.

Not in Our Collections or Unavailable

Not in our collections, loaned, or otherwise not available? Get it from libraries worldwide via Interlibrary Loan.

  • Look for the Find It! link in databases and other sources, and click on "Request via Interlibrary Loan" on the next page.
  • If you can't find it in a database, you can also complete a request form manually; this may take longer to process. Including standard numbers (such as ISSN/ISBN) decreases processing time.

Request Books and Other Media

Submit your request to Interlibrary Loan and we’ll get a copy as quickly as possible. Our automated system will determine the fastest and best way to get you the item, selecting among UBorrow, Borrow Direct, and libraries outside of our academic partnerships.

When possible, Interlibrary Loan will provide expedited delivery in roughly 10-12 days for items available from partner libraries at Big Ten Academic Alliance and Ivy Plus universities.

  • For items owned by the library but not currently available, look for the "Request via Interlibrary Loan” link in the Library Catalog to request a copy.
  • Not found in the Library Catalog? Try searching WorldCat, then use the “Find It!” link and click "Request via Interlibrary Loan” on the next page.
  • If you can't find a record in our catalog or WorldCat, you can also complete a request form manually; this may take longer to process.

In all cases, log in with your CNet ID and password to continue the request. Links from the Library Catalog or WorldCat will partially fill out the request form. Complete any other required fields or add any additional information before submitting the request. For manual requests, just choose the type of request you're making and fill out the form as completely as possible, with any additional information that might help us track the item down.

Other Borrowers

Proxy Borrowers

Proxy borrowers for faculty are also eligible for interlibrary loan services, but faculty need to request that accounts be set up for their proxies.

Once accounts have been created, proxy borrowers can make requests through the standard login page using specially-created credentials.

Institutions outside of the University of Chicago

If your institution does not use OCLC, DOCLINE, or another ILL system, you can request items from ILL for a fee. Please read our Lending policies and fees on the Interlibrary Loan department page.