Interlibrary Loan

Request a Book or Article - Online Request Forms

• Use the forms below to request materials not owned by UC Davis.
• Use the Document Delivery Service (fees may apply) to request copies of articles and book chapters owned by UC Davis libraries.
• These services are only available to UC faculty, students and staff; see eligibility information below.

Online Forms

Use these online forms to place requests when you have a complete citation. For help with incomplete citations, use the Subject Guides to select an article index to search or ask for research assistance.

UC-eLinks

Use UC-eLinks to request articles while searching an article database.

How to Use UC-eLinks

Request in Melvyl

Use the Request in Melvyl to request a book or other item from another UC.

How to Use Melvyl Request

Request in Harvest: The UC Davis Library Catalog

Use Request to recall a UC Davis book that has been checked out or to request that a book be sent from one UC Davis campus library to another for you to pick up.

What Is Interlibrary Loan?

Interlibrary Loan obtains materials or copies of materials that are not available at UC Davis from other libraries within the UC system or from libraries throughout the world. Interlibrary loan is available to UC faculty, staff, and students. Undergraduates and non-research staff may be required to pay charges for items not owned by UC or affiliated libraries.

Eligibility for Interlibrary Loan

There are significant costs associated with an interlibrary loan. The ILL service supports university research, teaching, coursework, and patient care for UC Davis faculty, staff and students. Requests for recreational materials should be placed through your public library.

Current UC Student, Faculty, or Staff

Current UC student, staff, and faculty members can use the Interlibrary Loan Service.

UCD Affiliate at a Remote UC Davis Research Facility

UCD faculty, staff, and students working at sites outside the Davis/Sacramento area can use the Interlibrary Loan Service. Refer to services for remote users for more information.

All Other Individuals with UC Davis Library Cards

All other individuals with UC Davis library cards should seek interlibrary loan service at a public library.

Independent Researcher

Independent researchers should seek interlibrary loan services from a public library.

Representative of Another Institution or Library

UC Davis provides access to the holdings of the Peter J. Shields Library and the Physical Sciences & Engineering Library through the Peter J. Shields Interlibrary Lending Service and to the collections of the Carlson Health Sciences Library and the Blaisdell Medical Library through the Carlson Health Sciences Library Lending Services.

How Long Does It Take?

Interlibrary Loan and the University of California libraries are committed to providing fast access to shared library resources. All UC Libraries utilize the Tricor courier service and the Ariel electronic document delivery system. With these two delivery systems, the majority of requests can be processed and filled in approximately five working days.

Unfortunately, many requests take a great deal longer, despite our best efforts. A variety of causes can contribute to this problem: lost, missing or checked out books, mail or delivery system slowness, mailing and processing mistakes, or overburdened ILL staff at other institutions.

Our goal is to have your request sent to potential lenders within one working day of its submission and to notify you of its receipt within one working day of the items arrival. These are the parts of the ILL process that we can control.

In general, it is a good idea to allow 2 to 3 weeks for interlibrary loan items to arrive, especially for materials not owned by UC Libraries. While most requests will arrive much sooner than this, some can take considerably longer.

Rush Orders

It is possible for us to place Rush orders. It is important to understand that Rush orders are much more labor intensive than regular orders, both for our borrowing unit and for the lending library. Please use this option sparingly. You must phone the ILL unit processing your request to alert library staff that you have submitted a rush request. Some lending libraries may choose to disregard our requests for rush service.

How Long Can Items Be Kept?

Loan periods for Interlibrary Loan materials are set by the lending library. The lending library may also set special conditions of the loan, such as "library use only" or "nonrenewable."

Items That Can Be Requested

Most research materials can be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan. Books, theses, dissertations, periodical articles, conference proceedings, technical standards, and patents can all be acquired in most cases. However, there are a number of exceptions, see below.

Material checked out at UC Davis may be requested from other UC libraries only.

Frequently Delayed Materials

Certain requests are more likely to be delayed than others. Here is a list of types of materials that frequently take longer than normal to process.

• Reference and special collections items
• Current computer science titles
• Popular best sellers
• Materials not located in the UC system
• Requests with incomplete, inaccurate, or illegible bibliographic information

Items That Cannot Be Requested

• Materials owned in any format by UC Davis libraries, unless checked-out, missing or lost.
• Textbooks required by current course syllabi.
• Materials currently in the library reserve collections for use in current classes.
• Materials required for class, reserve use, or for public performance.
• Materials for personal use not connected to university work.

Items Generally Not Available Through Interlibrary Loan

These types of material are generally not available through interlibrary loan:

• Reference materials
• Newspapers in original format
• Whole issues or volumes of journals
• Materials owned by the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley and by the Clark Library at UCLA are not loaned by those libraries.

In addition, some libraries have categories of materials that are not available on interlibrary loan. These include: rare, fragile, or unique materials; audiovisual materials such as video tapes and sound recordings; some dissertations; and items in special collections. Please consult the Service Desk before requesting these materials.

UC Special Collections Interlibrary Loan Service

Where Do My Requests Go Once I've Placed Them?

Many ILL requests are routed automatically to a UC campus or other library that owns the requested item. Requests that cannot be automatically routed are reviewed by Interlibrary Loan staff; owning libraries are identified, and the requests are forwarded electronically to a group of libraries owning the item. If an item currently checked out from UC Davis is not available at another UC library a recall is placed for the UC Davis copy.

Contact Interlibrary Loan Services

Shields Library and the Physical Sciences & Engineering Library

Interlibrary Loan Service for Shields Library and the Physical Sciences & Engineering Library is located in the Shields Library on the first floor. Service is provided from the Circulation Desk (see map). ILL books may be picked up during all hours of circulation service. ILL staff are available to assist with in depth ILL inquiries from 9-5 weekdays.

Email: shieldsinterloan@ucdavis.edu
Phone: (530) 752‑2251

Carlson Health Sciences Library

The Carlson Health Sciences Library Interlibrary Loan Service is located in the Carlson Health Sciences Library.

Email: hslill@ucdavis.edu
Phone: (530) 752‑6379

Blaisdell Medical Library

The Blaisdell Medical Library Interlibrary Loan Service is located in the Education Building on the UCDMC campus in Sacramento.

Email: mclill@lib.ucdavis.edu
Phone: (916) 734‑3529