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University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Reciprocal Borrowing

A guide explaining reciprocal borrowing privileges for visitors from other institutions and Illinois patrons visiting other libraries.

Documentation & Access

Policies and procedures, as well as hours, vary between institutions. Please read the document below carefully and call ahead to verify that you have the necessary documentation and that you will be able to access the material you need.

Faculty Visiting BTAA Institutions

Faculty visiting visiting BTAA institutions must have their i-card and be able to authenticate their affiliation through the BTAA website in order to access materials.

Faculty Visiting OCLC Institutions

Faculty visiting OCLC institutions must have an OCLC card in order to access materials. An OCLC card can be obtained at the University of Illinois Main Library Circulation Desk if the faculty member:

  • Presents a valid i-card
  • Library account is in good standing

The OCLC card must be signed by the Access Services Librarian to be valid. An OCLC card is valid for one year for faculty members.

I-Share

Illinois faculty can borrow from many college and university libraries within Illinois through CARLI (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois) by using the I-Share Catalog. Illinois faculty can check out books from other I-Share libraries with a valid i-card as well as return I-Share books to any I-Share library. Please check the I-Share catalog before traveling to another location to determine whether the item you wish to borrow is available.

Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery

Interlibrary Loan is a service that will borrow materials from libraries across the globe if the materials are not available at the University of Illinois Library or through I-Share. Faculty unable to come to the University of Illinois Library to pick up physical items will be limited to using Interlibrary Loan only for items that can be scanned and delivered electronically.

Document Delivery is a fee based service to provide copies of materials located at Illinois libraries. Visit the Interlibrary Loan and the DocExpress websites for more information on how to use these services.