Service Spotlight: Inter-Library Loans

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Inter-Library Loan (ILL) is a library service that helps users request books, articles, chapters, or other resources from another library when the item is not available through their own college library.

The Alexander College library is part of a network called Illume, which is funded and ran by the British Columbia Electronic Library Network (BCELN) and connects libraries in British Columbia and in the Yukon Territory. This service helps students, staff, and faculty acquire information that their library does not currently have due to reasons such as cost.

ILL is trustworthy because the materials exchanged have been verified by qualified and experienced librarians. For example, students can find peer-reviewed articles from reputable sources, published books and eBooks, and copies of professionally archived news media. Lastly, ILL is efficient because articles for research papers can be delivered to the user within three to five working days and up to 10 working days for books*.

This service has and continues to help students with researching their assignments and assisting staff and faculty with preparations for their classes or projects. Besides research, Illume gives students and staff access to public library materials which is helpful since you can skip the process of applying for a library card elsewhere.

Benefits of Using ILL for Students

For students, ILL supports access to learning materials that are not available directly through the Alexander College library. This is especially useful where students may be working on assignments that require specific articles, chapters, or academic sources.

While ILL may not be the best option when a student needs an item immediately, it is very useful when there is enough time to wait for another institution to deliver the requested material. This gives students another pathway to find reliable academic material instead of stopping their research when Alexander College library’s databases do not have what they need.

ILL can also build stronger research habits. Students learn that finding academic sources is not only about searching quickly; it also involves checking details, reading citations carefully, and understanding where information comes from. A clear article title, journal title, author, date, or Digital Object Identifier (DOI) can make a request easier to process, meaning that students get what they need faster.

For students: If you are considering using ILL, please use this link: Interlibrary Loan Service. Make sure you request the item one or two weeks before your assignment is due to ensure you have ample time to read it and apply it to your work.

Benefits of Using ILL for Staff/Faculty

For staff and faculty, ILL is most useful when planning ahead. Students often need resources immediately, which can make ILL difficult for urgent assignments. Faculty, however, may be preparing lessons, readings, or research projects days or weeks in advance.

In those cases, ILL can help instructors request journal articles or chapters for use in curriculums that are not currently available through the college library. This can support course preparation, professional research, and the development of class reading materials.

For staff/faculty: Need to access an article, perhaps to assign to one of your classes, but can’t? An ILL request can help. For more information, please contact library@alexandercollege.ca

* Exceptions apply for materials coming from outside of British Columbia.