If you have trouble at any point in identifying or locating materials at the Library, always ask for help from one of the Library's reference departments. The staff is here to assist you in locating materials that may not be easy to locate within our collections.

However, there are many cases where the Library just doesn't own the book you need. You then have several options to choose from.

For materials not owned by the Library, you can request what you need through the Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Interlibrary loan services are offered without charge to all University faculty, students and staff. Request forms are available on the Library's Web site, which you can access through a tab on the Library catalog search page. You can also link to search forms using .

To log into your ILL account, you will need your CNET ID. The first time you log in, you will be asked to fill out a brief form (mainly contact information). Then you will see several options for ILL requests, including one to request a book or book chapter.

Some catalogs or bibliographic databases import their records directly to University of Chicago's ILL request forms. For example, when you link to ILL services from WorldCat on FirstSearch (the largest bibliographic database in the world which includes millions of records for books and other materials), just click on and then all of the information from that database will transfer to your ILL form.

Along with WorldCat, you can also locate books at other libraries by using the RLG Union Catalog (RLIN) on Eureka. The Center for Research Libraries has a huge collection of foreign newspapers and dissertations, government documents, ethnic publications, and other rare resources. A full list of links to catalogs from other university or private libraries is also available.

Items requested through Interlibrary Loan usually are available for checkout in about 10 working days. To make best use of the service, please read the answers to the frequently asked questions of the ILL department.

If an item is not available from the Library and if you cannot wait for interlibrary loan, another option is to visit an area library that owns the item. You can determine what other libraries own either by searching their Library catalog directly, or by searching WorldCat. This latter option is helpful to ascertain general information, but does not provide circulation information, such as whether the book is checked out.

University of Chicago users may set up for borrowing privileges for Northwestern University Library. Once these privileges are set up, you can check out books directly from Northwestern Library.

Other libraries will usually not allow you to check out items directly (there are some exceptions for faculty members). You will only be able to visit and view the book. You may need to visit the Web site of the Library you want to visit or telephone its reference department to obtain these details, as well as information regarding access and hours. In some cases, you may require an InfoPass to visit a library. If you need assistance in making these arrangements, please consult with one of the UofC Library's reference departments.

Recommend a Library Purchase

You can request that the Library purchase an item for addition to the collections. Purchase Request forms are available on the Library's website and also can be accessed through a tab at the top of the Library catalog search page. Please keep in mind that materials can go out-of-print quickly so purchases are most successful for recently published titles. If you wish to do so, you can check on the status of titles published in the U.S. and Canada by searching Books in Print. It is sometimes helpful to discuss the purchase request in person with the appropriate subject bibliographer.

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