Guides: Interlibrary Loan (ILL): What Can I Order?

What Can I Request?

Loans (or things you eventually will need to return):

Almost anything another library has that we don’t,* whether that be a book, DVD, music or audiobook CD, microform, map, or other circulated item.
Items owned by Middlebury that are currently checked out, on reserve, missing, or otherwise unavailable. We will order items about to go on Reserve, so include a note in your request if that is why you are ordering an item.

*Make sure you search the Middlebury Library Catalog in LibrarySearch (go/midcat/) first to make sure we don't already own the item.

Articles:
This includes: journal or serial articles, book chapters, short pamphlets out of copyright, and segments of any larger works. Articles are:

Delivered to your ILLiad account electronically as PDF's.
Usually delivered within 24-48 hours (depending on availability of request).
Emails are sent to your Middlebury address when the PDF is available.
PDFs are only available for 45 days in your ILLiad account due to copyright. Please be sure to save or print the articles once you open them.

What Materials Are Difficult to Borrow?

Place your request regardless, and we'll try to get it for you.

We may not be able to borrow the following:

Some reference books
Most archival or very rare materials
Most whole periodical issues
Most senior, honors and master’s theses
Some artists materials cataloged as ‘boxed’ or ‘linear footage’
Items not held by many or any libraries
Materials only held overseas
Equipment

Theses

Many theses and dissertations are now available online. You can use the Dissertations/Theses Source Type filter in LibrarySearch or try searching the ProQuest Disertations and Theses Database.

LibrarySearch
Middlebury Library's search engine. After entering a search use the Source Type filter to narrow your results to Dissertations/Theses.

Dissertations & Theses This link opens in a new window
Full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997. Please search here before placing an ILL request for a Dissertation or Thesis.

Middlebury Student Scholarship
In 2007 Middlebury launched a digital repository of student work. Students can submit their work and search for the repository for peer research.

If you can’t find the thesis online:

Request the loan of a dissertation or a thesis from another Institution or Library by first searching WorldCat for the thesis title.
Once you find it, click on the Midd full-text, print, or ILL link, which will prompt an ILL request for the item

If you are unable to find the thesis in WorldCat you can submit the request in ILLiad manually, but it's unlikely we'll be able to borrow a thesis not cataloged in WorldCat.