Interlibrary loan (ILL) is a library service that provides access to books, articles, and other materials that are not available in the Boston College library collection. Through ILL, the library can borrow books and obtain copies of book chapters, articles and other materials from libraries that hold those items for you. Copies are scanned and delivered via email in PDF format. There is no cost for this service.
Materials borrowed through ILL must be checked out to an individual.
Because of the policies of many libraries, certain kinds of items are very difficult or sometimes impossible to get. These usually include:
Time Frames: Most loan requests arrive within 3-7 business days and copy requests within 1-4 business days. However, delivery times can vary and there is no way to guarantee a completion date.
Loan Periods: Loan periods for borrowed items will vary depending on the policies of the lending library. Most loan periods are between 4-8 weeks.
Renewals: Most lending libraries permit at least one renewal unless stated otherwise. If you need to renew an ILL item, you can renew it through your ILLiad account or by emailing lawill@bc.edu
Additional Information: For more detailed information on ILL policies, please see the Interlibrary Loan - User's Guide.
You can search the BC Library Catalog to locate both print and e-books. If the book that you would like to check out is not available at the law school library but is at another BC library, you can request it through the catalog. Once you have located the book in your search results, just sign in to your account using your BC login.
Then click on the Request Book link.
Select Newton Campus - Law as the Pickup Location and click Place Request. You will be notified when the book has been delivered to the Law Library and is available for pick-up. If the book is for a member of the faculty, ask that the book be checked out to them.
If the book or journal that you need is not available at a Boston College library, you can use WorldCat. WorldCat is a catalog that contains information on materials held by libraries all over the world. You can search WorldCat to discover if the book or journal you need is available at another library and place an interlibrary loan request. You can access WorldCat from the Law Library's website in the Databases box.
If you are looking for a specific book or works by a specific author, we recommend that you conduct an Advanced Search. This allows you to run a precise search for the exact title or author you are looking for. If you are trying to locate books on a specific topic, you can just run a keyword search from the main search box. Contact a Teaching & Research librarian if you need help searching WorldCat.
Once you have located a book in WorldCat that you would like to request via interlibrary loan, click the book title from your results list to view the full record. Then click the blue Request Item button on the right.
You will then be prompted to login to ILLiad with your BC username and password. Once you are logged in, the Loan Request form will display and bibliographic information about the title will be prepopulated. If you are borrowing materials on behalf of your professor, include the professor's name in the Notes field and ask that it be checked out to them. This is important because once the book has been requested we cannot change the person to whom it is checked out and you don't want to be responsible for the book if it is lost or late in being returned. If you want to be notified via email when the items are available for pickup at the Law Library, just include that in the notes too.
If the journal that you need is not available at a Boston College library, you can use WorldCat. WorldCat is a catalog that contains information on materials held by libraries all over the world. WorldCat let's you determine if the journal you need is available at another library and place a request for a copy of the article you need. You can access WorldCat from the Law Library's website in the Databases box.
When searching for a specific law review or journal article, we recommend that you conduct an Advanced Search for the title of the journal. Contact a Teaching & Research librarian if you need help searching WorldCat.
Once you have located the law review
or journal title in your list of results, click on the title to view the full record. To request a copy of the article you need, click the blue Request Item button on the right.
You will then be prompted to login to ILLiad with your BC username and password. Once you are logged in, the Copy Request form will display and some bibliographic information will be prepopulated. You will need to add information including the title, author, year and pages. If you have the volume and issue number include those as well to ensure you receive the correct article. The articles will be delivered to you via email. If you want them to be sent to your faculty member, include that information in the Notes field. Once you have completed the Copy Request form submit your request.
