The Wonders and Stories of Interlibrary Loans

The Texas Group Catalog
is maintained by the Texas
State Library and Archives
Commission, and is part of the
WorldCat Catalog, which is used
for ILL requests. 

On occasion I take advantage of my library's Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service. I am sure that many if not all readers viewing this blog is already aware of this wonderful service, but for those who do not here's a little summary of the service: If your public library system or academic library does not have a book that really want to reader for pleasure or for research you can place an ILL request. Your library will locate a copy of the book in another library system or academic library and ask if they can borrow the book. Generally, there is a library out there some where - whether in your home state or in another state - that will lend the book out. Now, each library system has policies on what they are able to request and they are not able to request. My library system cannot do materials that are newly published as well as media items. Also, there is a small price to pay... it takes two to four weeks to process the request. Not bad, really. Best part of it all - it is FREE!

Amazing, right? I never used this service before this past year, and I'm seriously asking myself why I never did. Not only am I able to get books that I would have never be able to get my hands on unless I bought the book online (basically unseen - not knowing if I liked it or if it was perfect for my research), if I was lucky and found it in a used bookstore (not likely, but even then do I want to buy it?), or I had to got to a library that had a copy (if I was lucky to have a library in the surrounding area. However, there's the driving and whether or not I could check it out). So! Not only do I get books that I want to read for free and I get books from across the United States. As a nerd who does not travel very much - this is amazing awesome!

To give into my fascination, I'll be sharing moments with the books I've reads thanks to the wonderful service of Interlibrary Loan.


Interested in learning more about Interlibrary Loan? Visit your local public or academic library and ask the librarians! They will be more than happy to help!