Law Review/Journal Research Assistance

Interlibrary Loan Guidelines

Law Review and Journal articles require many interlibrary loans (ILLs) over the course of a year. Here are some guidelines for interlibrary loans. Please contact Kelly Dewees, Evening Circulation/ILL Assistant, with any questions (617) 422-7289.

There are two separate procedures for interlibrary loans, one for tech checking and one for obtaining materials for your own research.

FOR TECH CHECKS:

If our library does not own an item, associates should fill out an interlibrary loan form. Interlibrary loan forms for cite checks can be found on the law review TWEN site or in a binder at the circulation desk (there are different forms for articles and books).

Interlibrary loan forms for tech checks must be given to law review or journal editors. They should NOT be passed in at the library circulation desk.

Note: If a document is available in .pdf format on the web, it is not necessary to interlibrary loan it. Pdf format provides a scanned image (the equivalent of a photocopy). What you would get via interlibrary loan would be identical to this type of web document.

Before submitting an interlibrary loan request, please:

1. Check the online catalog to make sure the item is not in the library.
2. Try to get as complete a citation as possible. If you need a specific edition, year or publisher, please include that information on the form. It is difficult to interlibrary loan articles if we have an incomplete citation e.g. no page numbers. No page numbers means that the lending library has to search through an entire newspaper or journal for an article (and most are unwilling to do this). For more complete citations, you can go to:
   • Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations (KF246 .B46 2001). This book is on reserve and at the reference desk. It is useful if you are unsure what an abbreviation stands for.
   • A reference librarian.
   • Westlaw/Lexis to get page numbers for articles.

If you cannot get complete information, please note on the ILL form that you realize the citation is incomplete and cannot obtain more information so that we don’t spend time trying to contact law review for additional information.

FOR YOUR RESEARCH:

If you run across a book or article that you would like for your own research, you may request it through interlibrary loan. New England Law Library has access to the holdings of thousands of academic and public libraries.

How do I request interlibrary loans?

There are three ways you can request books or articles for your own use:

1. Use the paper forms at the circulation desk. Ask a circulation desk assistant to give you article or book forms and then hand them in to the circulation or reference desk when you have completed them.
2. Use the online forms for books or articles from the library homepage.
3. If you are searching WorldCat (FirstSearch) and you find a book or article that interests you, you may interlibrary loan it simply by clicking on the icon at the top of the screen that says ILL and filling out your name, phone and email address. This request goes directly to the ILL department. Here is a direct link to the Worldcat advanced search screen.

How long does interlibrary loan take?

The law library usually order items the same day that you request them. But how long it takes depends on how quickly other libraries respond to our request. Some materials arrive the same day (e.g. articles arriving through our document delivery system) and some take three weeks (from a slow library in California that mails materials library rate). Usually 14 days is safe. We try to rush things in an emergency, but there are no guarantees so please plan ahead.

How do I pick up interlibrary loans?

We will call or e-mail you when items arrive. You can pick up materials at the circulation desk. Put your initials by the item on the record we keep at the desk so that we know you have received it.

What if I need an interlibrary loan after the due date?

Please keep track of due dates. Our ability to borrow depends on our track record with other libraries. Due dates are on the cover of the books (we always put a slip on the front cover with the due date). If you are not finished by that date, call Kelly Dewees (617) 422-7289 several days before the book is due and she will try to renew it. We can only renew materials once. So if you still need the material after one renewal, let us know and we will order another copy from a different library.