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Subject Guide: Law and Legislation: Interlibrary Loan

This page is designed to assist students enrolled in the Paralegal Program at Minnesota State University Moorhead and all others who have access to this site and may have a need to do legal research.

All things interlibrary loan (ILL)

What is ILL?

  • a service available to MSUM faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students that allows them to request books, articles, and media from libraries in Minnesota and beyond.

  • In general, any item held by a library in the U.S. may be requested. However, some items may be more difficult to get ahold of than others and often take longer to arrive.

How do I request materials through Interlibrary Loan?

  1. On the Library homepage, select Interlibrary Loan under Services.
  2. Click "Request a Book, Article, DVD, or CD".
  3. Log into your library account using your StarID and password.
  4. The blank ILL Request Form will appear.
    1. For Citation Type, select Book (for books, CDs, or DVDs) or Copy/Article (for journal or magazine articles). 
    2. Enter as much information as you have about the material you are requesting. The title is required, but the more information you provide (such as ISBN, publication year, or edition), the easier it is for us to locate it. If you only need a specific chapter or page range from a book, please include that in the form.
    3. If you have information that doesn't fit in the citation fields provided on the form, include it in the Comment field. 
    4. NOTE: If you are a Distance Education student, be sure to indicate that in the Comment section of every request. 
  5. Read the Notice of Copyright, and click the radio button to acknowledge. 
  6. Click Send Request at the bottom of the screen. The text "Your request was successful" will appear.
  7. To check the status of a submitted request, log in to the Library homepage, click on your name in the upper right hand corner of the screen and from the drop down menu select "My Requests." A list of all of your requests will appear with information about where they are in the process of getting to you.

When your request is fulfilled:

  • Digital Items: you will receive an email message at your MSUM email with either a PDF attachment or further instructions on how to access your material.
  • Physical Items: you will receive an email at your MSUM email address indicating that your material is ready. Bring your Dragon ID to the Circulation Desk to check out your materials.

Requesting ILLs through the databases