Interlibrary Loan

Helpful hints and information to make the Interlibrary Loan process easy!

Interlibrary Loan Request Time Frame

When requesting Interlibrary Loan materials make sure to plan and leave yourself plenty of time to use your item.  Below are basic Interlibrary Loan timelines:

  • All requests are processed within one to three working days of submission.
  • Articles take 2-3 days to show up in your email.   All other Interlibrary Loan items usually take 7-10 days to arrive but can take longer depending on availability at the lending libraries.
  • Some items cannot be loaned or take a longer time to receive.  Examples of these are reference items or rare materials, videos/CDs, musical scores, dissertations, and items on microfilm.

How to Interlibrary Loan a Book

When looking up your topic in WorldCat you may find books you are interested in that are not available in DeWitt's collection. Those books are indicated with At Regional Libraries or At other libraries worldwide. Click on the title.

You will see a link to Borrow This Item from Another Library.

Once you click this button you will be directed to the Interlibrary Loan login page. Enter your Northwestern network username and password, then click Sign In. The request form will be populated with your WorldCat request information. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click Submit Request.

How To Interlibrary Loan An Article

When researching your topic, you may find materials you are interested in that are not available in full text.  Click on the Find it @ DeWitt link to access full-text from another database or request the article from Interlibrary Loan.

If the library does not have the article, another window will pop up with an option to request the material from Interlibrary Loan.

The Borrow This Item from Another Library link will direct you to the Interlibrary Loan login page. Enter your Northwestern network username and password, then click Sign In. The request form will be populated with your article information. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click Submit Request.