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Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about ILLiad

What is ILLiad?

ILLiad is the electronic system you use to request an item through Interlibrary Loan. The name ILLiad can be thought of as an acronym for InterLibrary Loan internet accessible database.

How is ILLiad better than traditional ILL systems?

  1. You will find it easier to submit your interlibrary loan requests. With ILLiad, you enter your name, address, and other personal information into the system only once, at the time of your first request.
  2. Your request will be handled more rapidly and accurately as problems relating to misinterpretation of hand-written requests are eliminated.
  3. You can get many of your articles more quickly through Electronic Delivery.
  4. You can get information about the status of your request through the Web at any time from any location without having to call the ILL Department.
  5. Library personnel are able to serve you better because all data about your request and its handling is stored in a searchable database. We are able to respond quickly to your inquiries about your request. We are also able to gather statistical information about the performance of the libraries that lend to us, enabling us to make better decisions when choosing a lender to supply an item.

Are there any disadvantages to the electronic system?

Some people might find it troublesome to have to log into ILLiad using a username and password. We believe this is less trouble than traditional paper and electronic systems which require you to enter your personal information with each new request.

Is security a problem if I use a public workstation?

Yes. Web browsers cache information and create a history file on the local workstation. This allows a subsequent user of the workstation to access the system under your name using the browser's Back button to recall a page from the cache, or by finding a page with your personal information in the browser's history file. If you are concerned about the security of your interlibrary loan requests, you can take the following steps:
  • Access ILLiad only from your personal computer or an otherwise secure workstation.
  • Access ILLiad from a public workstation in the Interlibrary Loan office in the library. These computers are supervised by the library staff.
  • When using a public access workstation:
    1. Delete from the history file those pages that contain your personal information.
    2. Exit from the Web browser before you leave the workstation. This prevents the Back button from accessing the pages you were using.

Why don't I see all my older requests when I look at my request history?

From time to time we purge older records from ILLiad. Our policy is to keep requests online for several years order to comply with record keeping requirements of the copyright law.

What is electronic delivery?

Many libraries ship photocopies of articles to us in electronic format. In the past we printed these articles before delivering them to you. Now, through ILLiad, we are able to offer you the option of electronic delivery of these articles in PDF format (Adobe's Portable Document Format). You can read more about electronic delivery on the Electronic Delivery Information page.

Why does my browser say that you're sending a cookie? What's in it?

The technology that we use sends a Session ID to be stored on your machine. You can refuse this cookie and still be able to use ILLiad without any problems.
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