Requesting Library Materials
- What may be requested?
- How do I know if the UWM Libraries owns an item I need?
- How do I request items?
- How do I return items?
- How long are loan periods? May I renew anything?
- Who should I contact with questions about borrowing materials?
What may be requested?
You may request almost anything that you need for your research. Books, journal articles, CD-ROMs, dissertations, and government documents are all items we may be able to obtain for you. It does not matter if the item is held in the UWM Libraries or is available from another source. Materials requested can be made available to you in a variety of ways. Books, CD-ROMs, and other "returnables" will be checked out and sent to your home or office via FedEx. Articles or chapters from books ("non-returnables") will usually be delivered electronically via your ILLiad account, though in some cases paper copies can be faxed or sent by FedEx if necessary.
Copyright guidelines will be observed when making photocopies of pages from books or journals.
How do I know if the UWM Libraries own an item I need?
First, check the online catalog. If we own a book or journal you should be able to find it in the catalog. Many journals are available electronically. If you search the online catalog and discover an Internet link you can probably view the article yourself online. You will be asked to enter your 11-digit ID number and first four letters of your last name. You may also want to check the list of electronic journals that the Libraries subscribe to. If you are in an article database (such as Academic Search) look for the
box for assistance in determining if we have the item available electronically or if you will need to submit an ILL request to get it from another library.
If the item is only available in paper or you have difficulty accessing an electronic item, send a request to the Libraries through ILLiad. Books will be sent by FedEx and articles will be delivered electronically to your ILLiad account.
How do I request Items?
First time users must contact the Distance Education Services Library Liaison at deserv@uwm.edu or by phone at 1-877-893-8583. At this time your ILLiad account will be activated and you may begin requesting items. After you have made this initial contact, you may use ILLiad at any time and do not need to contact the Liaison again unless you encounter difficulties when using ILLiad.
To request items go to ILLiad and login with your campus ID and last name.
ILLiad is your method of requesting items, tracking their status, viewing your request history, renewing books loaned to you from other libraries, and viewing any documents sent to you electronically.
How do I return Items?
Books may be mailed directly to the UWM Libraries by any standard postal carrier or returned to any UW campus interlibrary loan office that will ship the items back to UWM. Please check with the appropriate staff at the UW library before returning books to their interlibrary loan office. Note: you may be held responsible for late fees on items returned to us in this manner. The UWM Libraries address is:
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries
Distance Education Liaison/ILL
2311 East Hartford Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53211
How long are the loan periods? May I renew anything?
Articles delivered to your ILLiad account are considered "non-returnables" so you do not need to worry about those. They will be automatically purged from your account after a certain number of weeks.
Books borrowed from the UWM Libraries may be renewed indefinitely, as long as you are enrolled and another user does not recall them from you. To renew a book from the UWM Libraries, go to the online catalog, click on "Personal Record" and enter your 11-digit ID number and last name. Once the items checked out to you are displayed, check the box to the left of each item to mark it for renewal. Then click the "Renew items" button at the bottom of the screen. Finally, note the new due date for each item to assure that they have all been renewed. Please contact the Distance Education Liaison at 1-877-893-8583 or deserv@uwm.edu if you encounter any problems with this procedure. Due dates for book will vary. Undergraduate students receive a four week loan during the fall and spring semesters and a two week loan in the summer. Graduate student due dates coincide with the end of the semesters.
Non-UWM books must be renewed through your ILLiad account. The due date for those books will be set by the lending library and may be loaned to you for a substantially smaller time period.
Always note the due date for each item upon receipt. You are responsible for assuring that the UWM Libraries receive all returnables by their due date.
Who should I contact with questions about borrowing materials?
Please Contact:
Leigh Dorsey
Distance Education Liaison
deserv@uwm.edu
(414) 229-3938
(toll free) 1-877-893-8583