The local library doesn't have the one book you need to finish your Ice Dragon documentation? Don't despair! Inter Library Loan (ILL) lets you borrow materials from other libraries through your local library. ILL is available to almost everyone in Western Pennsylvania; all you need is a library card. Any branch of The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will take ILL requests from anyone with a barcoded Carnegie Library card; most community libraries in Western PA offer ILL, and send requests through The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. University and college libraries offer ILL to students, faculty and staff.

Using Inter Library Loan is easy; just ask your librarian to make an Inter Library Loan request. You will be given an ILL request form to fill out and return. The ILL request form asks for your name, where you can be reached, and information about the material you wish to borrow. As with most quests, the more information you have about what you want, the more likely you are to get it. For a book request, the bare minimum you should provide is the author or editor's name(s), and the title of the book. The date of publication, the publisher's name and location, and the book's ISBN (International Standards Book Number) are also useful. For journal articles, try to provide at least the journal title, and the author and title of the article you want. If possible include the article's publication date, the volume and issue number of the journal and the page numbers for the articles.

Most non-reference books are available through ILL; copies of journal articles and some audio-visual materials are available as well. Most items a library will lend to local patrons are available through ILL. However, many libraries won't process ILL requests for items owned by that library (even if someone has the book checked out...) or for items on order. Exactly what materials are available through ILL is determined by the libraries involved. Cost may also affect what items you can get through ILL. For example, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh does not charge for processing an ILL request, but it does pass on copying and lending fees from the lending library to you. If the fee is more than you wish to pay, then you won't get your request.

Receiving an Inter Library Loan request is not an overnight process; you should expect to wait a minimum of three weeks to receive your requests. Your wait depends on several factors: how much information you provide and how accurate that information is, the number of libraries that are contacted to find and obtain the materials, and how fast materials can be shipped. The length of time that you may borrow ILL materials varies from a week to a month; the loan period is set by the lending library. Some ILL materials are renewable, and, of course, you can keep any photocopies. Some libraries charge overdue fees for overdue ILL material; so be sure to return them on time. Finally, ILL material MUST be returned to the same branch or department you borrowed it from. For example, ILL request from the Squirrel Hill branch of The Carnegie Library must be returned to the Squirrel Hill branch.

More information about Inter Library Loan is available at the library. Carnegie Library has a booklet that answers questions about ILL, and questions about ILL at your local library can answered by the librarian there. Good luck and happy borrowing!