UMBC Interlibrary Loan Service

The Interlibrary Loan Service allows patrons to request materials needed for their research that are not owned by UMBC.

Although Interlibrary Loan gives you access to many more resources, it may take longer than other means of access. The average delivery time is 5-10 business days. Always start your research early for the best results. You may want to contact the Reference Desk for assistance in locating other in-house or online materials.


To place a request, log in to ILLiad below using your UMBC username and password.

First-time ILLiad users will need to register and select their campus status before they can place a request.

Log In to ILLiad

If you have any questions please contact the Interlibrary Loan Department at (410)455-2234 or illcm@umbc.edu.

Borrowing Books & Articles

Books:

  1. First, check catalog usmai. If the book appears there, it cannot be requested through ILL. (The only exception to this is for Reference or Reserves items.)
  2. If the book is owned by another USMAI library, you can request it by clicking the yellow Request button; if not, you can place an ILL request. Fill out the form as completely as possible and please check for errors before submitting.
  3. Books take an average of 1-2 weeks to arrive. You will be notified by email when your book arrives, and you can pick it up at the Check Out Desk.

Articles:

  1. First, check our A-to-Z Journal List - it contains all of our print journal holdings, full-text articles in databases, and electronic journals. You'll need to search by the journal name, then navigate to the proper issue to see whether we own the article you need.
  2. If we do not have access to the article, then place an ILL request. Fill out the form as completely as possible and please check for errors before submitting.
  3. Articles arrive quickly, usually within a few hours or days. You will be notified by email when your article is delivered electronically to your ILLiad account.

Loan Periods

Guidelines & Fees

ILL is available at no charge to current UMBC faculty, students and staff. However, a cap may be set on the $ amount requested for payment.

ILL is not available to special borrowers or alumni per Interlibrary Loan guidelines.

ILL no longer charges late fees, but please abide by the due date to allow us to maintain our borrowing privileges with our lending partners.

The cost of replacement materials for lost or damaged items is as follows:

  • Cost of the book + $35 processing fee
  • Minimum charge of $135

Items Not Available Through ILL

  • CDs, cassettes, LPs, DVDs, VHSs for personal use
  • E-books
  • Entire issues of journals, magazines, and newspapers
  • Reference materials
  • Test manuals and exam reviews
  • Computer software
  • Psychology tests

Please note that these items may be very difficult to borrow:

  • Old (published prior to 1800) or rare books
  • Textbooks
  • Genealogy materials
  • Music scores
  • Corporate technical reports and other in-house reports
  • Some high-demand and/or recent publications
  • Theses & dissertations: a few universities will not loan or copy them or restrict their use when they do

If you'd like to suggest a purchase for the library, please use the Purchase Recommendation form.

Info for Borrowing Libraries

Libraries looking to borrow UMBC materials can find more information here.

Copyright Restrictions

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

For comprehensive information, see the Copyright & Fair Use site maintained by Stanford University Libraries.

Contact Us

The ILL Office is open Monday thru Friday from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. Phone: (410) 455-2234. Email: illcm@umbc.edu


NameTitlePhoneE-mail
Chetelat, Kathy ILL Supervisor 410-455-2234chetelat@umbc.edu
Lee, Joe ILL Specialist 410-455-2234jlee75@umbc.edu
Sigrist, EmmaILL Specialist 410-455-2234esigrist@umbc.edu