If you see that an item is available through both USMAI and ILL, please default to the USMAI option. These materials arrive faster and at a lower cost to the institution. Usually you have a more generous loan period through USMAI as well.
There are three common ways to access the ILL form:
1. Most patrons find the form in the process of looking for sources in the catalog. In these cases you can click on the "request via ILL" button to open up an auto-populated form, which you can then check and submit.
2. A similar button also appears in many databases, which also links to an auto-populated form.
3. If you've found out about the source from elsewhere or aren't seeing the button come up for a desired item, please place a request through the website ILL form. This one is not auto-populated, but it works the same way.
Whenever you have a question or special request for the item, please use the notes field. Real humans process these requests, and they read and respond to questions and concerns in the notes field.
Printed books and some audiovisual materials can be sent through USMAI.
Print books, book chapters, journal articles, and audiovisual materials can be requested through ILL. We can request audiovisual materials via ILL, but they are more difficult to find and may take longer to arrive. Ebooks are very limited through ILL, but not entirely impossible.
Monitor your TU email. You should get a notification when your item arrives. You can also check under the 'request' option in your library account
