Both USMAI and Interlibrary loans (ILLs) are ways to get materials from off campus. These services are provided to those in the Towson University community without additional cost to patrons.
USMAI loans are from one of several area campuses that collaborate together in a consortium. Items requested this way come faster and at a lower cost to our institution. USMAI loans usually arrive within 2-3 business days.
ILL materials can come from anywhere in the world. Usually they arrive within two weeks. Digital items like journal articles and book chapters usually arrive within 2 business days.
We recommend using the service anytime you run across an item you could use for your research and TU does not provide access to that item. The only reason NOT to place a request is if you need to use the material before the loan would arrive to our campus.
