Interlibrary Loan FAQ

What is the purpose of ILL?
Am I eligible to use ILL?
What can be requested?
Can I borrow theses and dissertations?
What kinds of things are hard to get through ILL?
If I did not find the book in CLICnet, how do I submit a request for a book?
How do I submit a request for a journal article?
How does Copyright Law affect ILL?
How long does ILL take?
How much does it cost?
How can I check on the status of my request?
Can books be renewed?
How will I be notified when my book or article comes in?
Where do I pick up my book or article?
Where do I return the book when I am done with it?
What if I get an overdue notice?
What if I get an overdue notice and I am sure I have already returned the book?
What if I lose or damage an ILL book?

What is the purpose of ILL?

The purpose of Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service is to provide current students, faculty, and staff with access to materials for research and study which are not available at their home library or through the REQUEST feature in CLICnet. You should always check to see if the material that you are requesting is available through CLICnet before submitting an ILL request - using the ILL service to request material already available in CLICnet will only delay your receipt of that material.

Am I eligible to use ILL?

This service is available only to current Bethel Seminary students, faculty and staff. You must have a current Bethel Community Account to place requests. Users with a "Guest Patron" card, including alumni, are not eligible to use ILL services.

What can be requested?

You may request books, journal articles and other items that are not owned by Bethel Seminary Library. You may also request items that are owned by Bethel Seminary, but that are currently unavailable.

Can I borrow theses and dissertations?

You may request theses and dissertations through ILL, but they are not always available. Typically only the library of the institution where the thesis or dissertation was written has a copy. Some libraries do not loan these items. An alternative to ILL is the purchase option.

What kinds of things are hard to get through ILL?

Examples of items that are hard to get through ILL are: reference books, very old (pre-20th century) and very new (current year items), archival and manuscript material, loans of entire issues of journals, audiocassettes, videocassettes, DVDs, CDs, and microforms.

If I did not find the book in CLICnet, how do I submit a request for a book?

For books not found in CLICnet, you may place your request using the ILLiad interlibrary loan system.

The library will mail material to InMinistry, Doctor of Ministry, and Seminary of the East students.

How do I submit a request for a journal article?

You may place your request using the ILLiad interlibrary loan system.

The library will mail material to InMinistry, Doctor of Ministry, and Seminary of the East students.

How does Copyright Law affect ILL?

Copyright law does place limits on how much Bethel Seminary Library (or any library) can request for its users. According to the guidelines, each year we can request only five articles from any one journal title published in the last five years. For instance, if in 2007 you request five articles from one journal title published in the years 2003 through the present date, you will have used up Bethel Seminary's 2007 allotment.

How long does ILL take?

It depends on a number of variables, including which libraries own the item you are requesting and how they will deliver it to us. Keep in mind that if we have to query multiple libraries before finding one able to fill your request, it can lengthen the time considerably. This is why it is important that you give us an accurate "Need By" date. We will keep trying available locations until we fill the request, run out of locations, or run out of time. If you do not give us a "Need By" date, we will assume that you have a 30 day deadline.

Campus

ILL Locations

Material Types

Turnaround Time

St. Paul

Local (CLIC/MTLA)

Any material

2-4 days

St. Paul

Regional

Any material

7-10 days

St. Paul

National

Any material

14+ days

San Diego

All locations

Any material

7-14 days

SOE

All locations

Any material

7-14 days

How much does it cost?

We do not charge for our ILL services, but we pass on to the patron any and all charges assessed by the lending library. We will attempt to request from libraries that will lend books or copy journal articles for free.

For other items for which the lending library does request a charge, we will ask your approval of the charge before ordering the item. Some libraries may charge Bethel Seminary as much as $20 for loans of books or for photocopied articles. Please order materials judiciously; do not order items of dubious value to your research.

As an alternative, you may designate a maximum cost in the notes field of the request form.

How can I check on the status of my request?

To check on the status of book requests for which you placed a hold in CLICnet, please go to "My Account " on the search page in CLICnet. At the prompts, type in your name and the patron barcode from your Bethel Seminary ID.

To check on the status of interlibrary loan requests placed through ILLiad, please logon to ILLiad and select the "Outstanding Requests" option under the View section of the main menu.

If you have questions about an interlibrary loan request, please contact the Interlibrary Loan staff by phone at 651-635-8773 or 800-255-8706, ext. 8773 or by email.

Can books be renewed?

For instructions on how to renew books requested through CLICnet, click here.

Interlibrary loan books can sometimes be renewed. The renewal policy is determined by the lending library. PLEASE ASK FOR RENEWALS BEFORE THE DUE DATE.

To renew items requested through through ILLiad, please logon to ILLiad and select the "Checked Out Items" option under the View section of the main menu. Select the item you wish to renew and click on the "Renew Request" link. You will be notified by email if the item has been renewed.

If you have questions about renewing an item, please contact the Interlibrary Loan staff by phone at 651-635-8773 or 800-255-8706, ext. 8773 or by email.

How will I be notified when my book or article comes in?

As a general rule, if your request was made via the CLICnet request feature, the system will generate an email notification when the item is marked as received. Notices or questions about your request will be sent to the email address listed on your Bethel account. If you access your email through another provider, please forward your Bethel email to that address.

If your request was made through ILLiad, the system will generate an email notification when the item is marked as received. Notices or questions about your request will be sent to the email address listed on your ILLiad account.

You may also make a note on the electronic form with alternative means of notification.

Where do I pick up my book or article?

All books and journal articles may be picked up at the Circulation Desk of Bethel Seminary Library. Be prepared with your Bethel Seminary ID for checking out books. Also be prepared to pay for any fees for articles that we have notified you about.

The library will mail material to InMinistry, Doctor of Ministry, and Seminary of the East students.

We will return books to the lending library and will discard journal articles if they have not been picked up within ten days from the time you have been notified.

Where do I return the book when I am done with it?

Please return all ILL books to the Circulation Desk of the Bethel Seminary Library. Please make sure that the label on the front cover of the book is still attached to the book. Without this label, your loan record may not be cleared.

What if I get an overdue notice?

Please return overdue items as soon as possible. Bethel Seminary’s reputation in the ILL world depends in large part on how faithfully we adhere to other library’s due dates. Please do not jeopardize our future borrowing privileges with other libraries by disregarding their due dates. Note that unresolved overdues may result in the loss of your ILL privileges.

What if I get an overdue notice, and I am sure I have already returned the book?

If you get an overdue notice for an ILL book, which you have already returned, please note the date that the overdue notice was printed. If you returned the book on or after that date, you can probably ignore the overdue. If you returned the book before that date, please call the Circulation Desk to make sure you record is cleared. Please do not ignore multiple notices.

What if I lose or damage an ILL book?

You will be billed for the lost or damaged book through your Bethel Seminary account.