Interlibrary Loan Policy

Interlibrary loan service is available to all current faculty, staff, students and emeriti of Michigan Technological University.

Courtesy Card holders (i.e. local residents) may use MeLCat or request ILL services though their local public library.

Library Interlibrary Loan services to members of the general public are available for Government Documents only. Contact ill-l@mtu.edu for assistance.

The ILL/DD office makes every effort to obtain the item(s) requested by members of the Michigan Tech community. We can obtain copies from most journals, proceedings, and newspapers. Books, sound recordings, video/dvd and some theses and dissertations can be borrowed.

Generally, we cannot obtain entire issues of journals, reference items, genealogical materials, rare and unique items, textbooks for Michigan Tech courses or copies of patents or standards.

Requests are made via ILLiad or MeLCat. Please click on the links for details on using ILLiad and MeLCat. Requests may also be made through most research databases by using HuskyFetch.

The library pays most of the processing and copyright fees associated with ILL. You or your department will be asked to pay any cost exceeding $40.00 for each request.

The ILL/DD staff will process a maximum of 10 requests per individual per day. If workflows allow, more may be processed. Some lenders will limit the number of items loaned to a single customer.

All requests received in our office are processed within 24 hours. Most copy requests are filled and delivered electronically within 48-72 hours. Delivery of loans generally takes 5 to 14 days, depending on the lender. Delays in delivery should be reported to the ILL/DD staff.

We will communicate with you via your Michigan Tech e-mail account. It is your responsibility to keep your contact information current.

Copies of papers and articles are yours to keep.
Loan periods for borrowed items are set by the lending institution and are generally 3 to 4 weeks. Renewals may be available.  Please return ILL materials to the ILL/DD office or library circulation desk by the due date.

Rush service is available. You or your department will be asked to cover any costs exceeding $30.00 before a rush request is made. Please contact the ILL office with any rush or special requests.

Contact us right away! Different lending libraries have different rules about their lost/damaged materials, so it is important that you contact the Interlibrary Loan office as soon as possible. Contact ill@mtu.edu (email address link) for more information or to report a lost or damaged ILL item.