Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
The Interlibrary Loan Team, as part of the Access Services Department, provides the University community with information resources not owned by CU Boulder. In most instances there is NO CHARGE for this service, which is subsidized by the University Libraries. Be sure to search Chinook, the University Libraries catalog, before ordering materials through ILL. We do not order via ILL any materials which the University Libraries already own, unless that material is missing or temporarily unavailable (e.g., at the bindery, etc).
How do I order materials?
Articles | Book Chapters | Books | Dissertations | Government Publications | Newspapers | PASCAL | Videos, DVDs, Sound Recordings
Articles
To order journal articles, first check CU Boulder's holdings in Chinook. If you do not find the journal listed in Chinook, use the Libraries Article Finder form. Once you submit your request, ArticleFinder will try first to locate the article in CU Boulder's online holdings. If the article is found you will be provided a link to the full text right away. If the article is not found in our holdings, a link to ArticleReach Direct will be provided. Click this link to submit a request to other libraries with which we have resource sharing agreements. If the article is found you will receive an email with a link to the electronic article. Turnaround time varies, depending upon the availability of the article. If the article is not found in ArticleReach Direct, your request will be automatically converted to a traditional ILL request in ILLiad.
To order a copy of a chapter from a book not owned by CU Boulder, use the ILLiad request form for Book Chapters. Turnaround time varies widely, depending upon where the book is held.
Books
To order books, try Prospector first. Turnaround time for Prospector is generally 3-5 days. If the book you need is not available on Prospector, use the ILLiad request form for traditional ILL. Turnaround time for traditional ILL varies widely, depending upon where the book is available. Expect to wait 2-4 weeks.
Dissertations
To order dissertations not owned by CU Boulder, use the ILLiad request form for Theses. Turnaround time varies widely, depending upon where the dissertation is held. Some libraries do not lend dissertations.
The Government Publications Library is a regional library of the Federal Depository Library Program as well as a depository of Colorado state, United Nations, and European Union information. Our holdings are quite extensive, but thousands of items are not yet cataloged. BE SURE THAT YOU HAVE CHECKED WITH CU BOULDER'S GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS LIBRARY BEFORE ORDERING A GOVERNMENT PUBLICATION THROUGH INTERLIBRARY LOAN. Use the ILLiad request form for a Government Publication/Report. Turnaround time varies widely, depending upon where the publication is held.
Newspapers
To order newspapers not owned by CU Boulder, use the ILLiad request form for Newspapers. Turnaround time varies widely, depending upon where the newspaper is held. Many libraries do not lend newspapers, and those that do will generally only lend microform copies.
To order materials, including electronic article copies, from PASCAL (the University Libraries storage facility), see How to Request Materials from PASCAL.
Videos, DVDs, Sound Recordings
To order media, try Prospector first. Many of our Prospector public library partners have large collections of media materials. Turnaround time for Prospector is generally 3-5 days. If the material you need is not available on Prospector, use the ILLiad request form for traditional ILL, though be advised that most libraries do not lend media so we may not be able to get the material for you, or if we are able to borrow the material it may take a long time.
