Interlibrary Loan

Watch this video to learn more about ILL.

Who is eligible?

• current students
• current faculty and staff
• Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet

Due to the nature of research requirements, eligibility for scarcer, harder to rearch resources outside of MN and the surrounding area will require a status of graduate or faculty. Exceptions can be made. Please contact ILL staff for details.

What login do I use?

Use your St. Kate's login

• First time users need to fill out a personal information form so we can alert you when your materials have arrived at your chosen campus.
• CSJs and clinical faculty: accounts may have either been created by you or by staff at the library.

Please contact ILL staff if you are having trouble accessing your account.

What is my status?

Your status depends on the degree you're pursuing, where you live, and how often you come to campus. If you are a faculty or staff member taking classes at St. Kate's, you should use your faculty or staff status.

• Undergraduate: Pursuing an undergraduate degree and live within the MN metro.
• Graduate: Pursuing an graduate degree and live within the 7-county MN metro.
• Distance Student: Pursuing a degree and do not live within the 7-county MN metro.
• Faculty: Faculty member at St. Catherine University.
• Clinical Faculty: Clinical faculty member at St. Catherine University.
• Staff: Staff member at St. Catherine University.
• CSJ: Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

Why do I have to include all this personal information?

You need to include personal information like your email address, and phone number so we can contact you when your request is filled or if something goes wrong with your request. Your status is important because it determines how far we are able to send your request.

If any of your personal information changes, you must change it from ILLiad. ILLiad is not connected to other campus systems, and we don't want to risk sending information about your requests to the wrong place!  

What types of materials can I request?

Through ILL you can request articles, audiobooks, books, book chapters, CDs, DVDs, textbooks, theses, and more.

Due to copyright reasons, we cannot fulfill requests for electronic books or entire journal issues.

What information should I include in my request?

No matter what type of material you requesting, title, author, and basic citation information are needed. If the title is similar to others, several editions exist, several formats exist, or if the book is part of a series, ISxN should be given to be extra sure the right material and format is requested.

How long do I have with ILL items?

ILL loan periods can vary. The average loan period is four to six weeks, but it can be as long as three months or as short as two weeks depending on the location and the material. In general, textbooks and AV materials have shorter loan periods.

How long will it take to get my request?

• Document Delivery from St. Catherine University: 1-3 days.
• Articles from other CLIC libraries: 1-3 days.
• Items from the U of MN: 1-5 days.
• Items from other Metro area libraries: 3-7 days.
• Items from greater Minnesota, Wisconsin, or the Dakotas: 1-2 weeks or more.
• Items from other states: 1-3 weeks or more.

These delivery times are averages; the speed of delivery depends on the ILL workload. Difficulty verifying a citation may also delay requests.

If I put in a sooner "need by" date on my request, will I get it faster?

• NO! The "Not needed after" date ONLY indicates to staff when you NO LONGER need the materials. Your request will be returned to you unfilled if the date you specify does not allow us sufficient time to obtain a copy.

How will I know when my article or book is here?

You will receive a notice by email and you can also check the status by using your ILLiad account.

• Articles and other electronic materials: All articles will be delivered in electronic format to your ILLiad account and stored there for 30 days. After that, they are automatically deleted. Please download a copy to ensure you have continued access to it.

• Books and other physical materials: They will be held at the circulation desk until the due date. Please pick them up as soon as you are notified to take advantage of the whole loan period.

May I renew an item I have borrowed through ILL?

Usually, but only once.

You can renew your items by accessing your ILLiad account five days prior to the due date. If you miss the renewal deadline, you can email a renewal request with the item's TN to the ILL Staff. When we hear back from the lending library, you will receive an email with the new due date.

How do I renew an item I have borrowed through ILL?

You can renew items by accessing your ILLiad account five days before the due date. From there you should be able to click on the item you want to renew and select renew. This will alert ILL staff, and we will contact the lending library! You will receive an email with your final due date when we hear back. If you miss the renewal deadline, you can email a renewal request with the item's TN to the ILL Staff.

NOTE: It can take anywhere from ten minutes to a week to hear back from the lending library, so expect it to take a few days. 

Do I have to return ILL materials back to the St. Kate's Library?

Yes. Materials borrowed through ILL must be returned to the library that loaned it to you, otherwise you run the risk of receiving overdue notices from us or the book never getting back to the lending library.

Is there a limit to how many ILL requests I can submit?

No, but workloads may limit us to processing a small amount of an individual's requests daily.

Are there any other ILL limits?

• AV materials: libraries are hesitant to lend out AV materials, and when they do, the loan periods are short.
• Ebooks: electronic books are not available through ILL due to copyright issues.
• Textbooks: loan periods can be much shorter than normal loan periods, so you might not get the textbook for the entire semester.
• Undergraduates: we only borrow from Minnesota and neighboring states' library collections.

Why was my loan recalled?

Sometimes a lending library will recall something they loaned to us. It usually means that one of their patrons needs the book, so they will ask us to return it much sooner than the original due date.

Monday-Friday  7 AM - 3 PM

Please consult the Circulation Desk (651-690-8737) for specific hours and assistance.