ILL and Summit ordering at the end of the semester

As the end of the semester approaches, bringing due dates for papers and projects, Penrose Library staff want to help you find and access sources that you need for your research. Please be aware of some general policies and specific end-of-semester deadlines.

Books, DVDs, microfilm, and other tangible media (see below for articles)

Interlibrary loan (ILL) for print books and media materials can take a while, especially if items are coming from far away. The Access Services Department stopped requesting out-of-country loan items for students as of last week due to the time constraint for shipping. They will continue to request continental US loan items until December 7th. At that time they will only place requests for items within the Pacific Northwest/California and Montana. If you have any rush requests, please let Jen Pope know immediately.

For Summit items (print books and media materials), allow at least five business days for delivery, as usual. You may request Summit materials during finals week, but they are very unlikely to arrive before the end of the semester. Materials that arrive after the end of the semester will be held at the Circulation Desk for seven days; depending on when they are ordered, they may be sent back to their home institution before the beginning of the Spring semester.

Articles via ILL

Orders for articles via ILL are placed when the library is open, regardless of the time of year. Usually the turnaround time for an article via ILL is within 48 hours, although it can take longer, depending on the journal and the providing library. Once they have arrived, ILL articles remain available in your ILL account for 21 days. After that point, the articles are removed from your account and must be requested again, so it is a good idea to download your article as soon as you receive notification that it has arrived. Do be sure to leave yourself a cushion of a couple of days when requesting ILL articles!

Returning materials at the end of the semester

You can check on due dates for your Penrose, Summit, and ILL materials in your Sherlock account. Before you leave campus, please return items that are due while you will be away!

Image credit: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division