Georgetown Law
Georgetown Law Library

Interlibrary Loan Instructions for Research Assistants

Interlibrary Loan Instructions for Research Assistants

ILL FAQs for Research Assistants

Questions Answers
What's the turnaround time for ILLs?
  • Copies can arrive in a few hours to 3 working days.
    • Since copies tend to arrive faster than loans, we recommend that copies from books, reporters, dictionaries, etc. be submitted whenever possible.
  • Books can take 3 to 7 working days to arrive.
    • Need a book in less than 3 days?
      • Check for the book title through "Georgetown U. + Local Academic Library" option in the catalog.
      • If a circulating copy is available, then visit the owning consortium library to check the book out on-site.
      • N.B.: The local academic law libraries do not lend through the local loan service. To borrow their materials or obtain scans out of items housed only in those libraries, you must submit an ILL request.
Who gets notified about requested ILLs?
  • If the request was submitted under your own ILLiad account, you will receive all questions about citation clarification and automated notices such as arrival, reminder and overdue messages.
  • If the request was submitted under the faculty's RA ILLiad account, the faculty will receive all automated notifications.
    • If you include your name into the request form, any citation questions the ILL Office may have can be addressed to you instead.
Where and how do I get the ILLs?
  • If requested under your own ILLiad account:
    • Books are held under your name at the Circulation Desk.
    • Copies are delivered electronically into your ILLiad account.
  • If requested under the faculty's RA ILLiad account:
How long are the loan periods?
  • Loan period varies for each borrowed item, anywhere from 3 to 12 weeks, depending on the lending library.
  • The due date is set by the lender, not the Law Library. GULC faculty are not afforded lengthy loan periods by other libraries.
Can ILL books be renewed?
  • Renewals, if allowed by the lender, can be submitted through the ILLiad account used to request the item. You or the faculty should look for emailed reminder notices.
  • Renewal policies and periods depend on the lending library. Not every ILL item can be renewed, especially an overdue loan. Only one renewal is permitted.
  • Renewal periods are usually short. Maximize the use of the borrowed item.
  • Submit a new request to borrow a second copy whenever necessary.
Can I transfer my request or loan to my faculty's ILL proxy account or vice versa?
  • No, ILL requests cannot be transferred between different ILLiad accounts. The ILLiad system precludes transaction transfers in order to keep ILL offices compliant with the copyright laws that govern interlibrary loan.
  • If you and the faculty both need to use the same title, submit one ILL request under your ILLiad account and another under the faculty's proxy account. Do this even if you and the faculty need the book at different times.
Where can I or a faculty return ILL books?
  • RAs may return books to the Circulation Desk when it is open, or the outdoor book drop, located outside the campus iron gates, on the corner of New Jersey Avene & G Street NW. When the desk is closed, books may be returned into one of the two Library Book Drop boxes located in the library's foyer.
  • Faculty may return books to the McDonough 5th Floor Library Book Drop box. We do not recommend that faculty use campus mail service to return library books. It takes several business days for campus mail to deliver returned books to the library. The faculty is responsible for damages or loss incurred while a library book is in transit through campus mail.

ILL Tips for Research Assistants

Just Getting Started?

Source Collection Tips

Difference Between ILL & CLS

Research Tips

  • Not making progress on your research topic? Make a Research Consultation with one of the Law Librarians.

Technology Tips

  • Check your spam or junk folder in your email account for messages sent from the Law Library (e.g. lawcirc@georgetown.edu), main campus (e.g. circ@georgetown.edu) and consortium libraries (e.g. circ@american.edu).
    • If you use auto-forwarding, be aware that if the first email account filters a message as junk, then that message will not be forwarded to the second account.
    • All library services issues arrival notices, reminders to renew or return, and/or overdue or recall notifications. Do not ignore them.
  • The Law Library offers perma.cc, a web page archival service, and Georgetown Dataverse, a digital dataset repository. Contact the Reference Desk for more information (202-662-9140, lawlibref@georgetown.edu, Chat with a Librarian).