Master of Counselling
Interlibrary Loans

Information Access Without Borders

Your status as a current University of Lethbridge student means your access to information is by no means limited only to items owned or licensed by the U of L Library. Many publications you may need for research purposes (e.g., books, journal articles, videos) that are not available locally can be borrowed from other libraries through a service called Interlibrary Loans.

How Interlibrary Loans Works

Image of a book You may come across references to information sources that sound useful in another library's catalogue, in the references list of a book or journal article you are reading, or another individual--perhaps your professor--may recommend a particular work for your research.

Your first step in obtaining the desired the item is to determine if it is available in the U of L Library's collections. If it is a journal article, search for the title of the journal containing the article in the Journal Title index. If the desired item is not a journal article, search for it in the Library catalogue by Title or Author. After verifying that the desired item is not available locally, you can consider submitting an interlibrary loan request for it.

All current U of L students, faculty, and staff are eligible for interlibrary loan service. You do not need to tell the Library where the item you desire is located. You only need to provide the Library with information describing the needed item by completing the appropriate request form corresponding to the format of the needed item.

If you are searching a U of L Library index or database containing the button, you can click this button to determine whether a desired item is locally available. If it is not locally available, you can click the Interlibrary Loan Request link which will retrieve a form requiring you to provide your personal identification (username, password, email address) and "Cancel if not filled by" date.

When your requested articles or book chapters have been supplied by other libraries, the U of L Library will send you a link to a digital copy via email. Please note that filled interlibrary loan requests emailed to you by the Library are subject to Canadian copyright legislation: they are provided only for your personal research, study, or review, and you may not make further copies or forward the links to others.

For all other types of requests that cannot be emailed, the Library will mail you the items containing a due date slip informing you of the date by which they must be received back in the Library (distance students only), or send you notification via email that the items are ready for pick-up at the General Services Desk (Lethbridge and local area students). Normally interlibrary loan periods are 3 weeks with no renewals. For more information about Interlibrary Loans, see the Borrowing FAQs page.

To achieve the advanced quality expected in graduate level research, you may need to reach beyond the U of L Library's resources. Accessing documents owned by other libraries, however, generally takes some time, especially if the items must be transported by mail or courier. This means you should plan your research in advance in case some of the sources you need are not available locally. It is important to remember you are seeking "the best" information on your topic, not just the most convenient to access.

Practice Exercise

In an online bookstore, another institution's library catalogue, or from the reference list of an article you are now reading, find a source relevant to your research. Check to see if it is in the University of Lethbridge Library catalogue. Go to the Interlibrary Loans request forms and check to see that you have all the information needed to fill out a request.

Discussion Questions

  1. How might you need to organize your research plans if you anticipate needing to use the Interlibrary Loans service frequently for a particular assignment?
  2. What is the normal loan period for a book acquired via Interlibrary Loans? How does it compare to the loan period that applies to items owned by the U of L Library?

Additional Sources of Guidance

Maintained by Rumi Graham

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