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Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is the cooperative exchange of items among institutions for the purpose of fulfilling the informational needs of their patrons. ILL Services are ONLY available for current students, faculty and staff. University designated Emeritus faculty members may also utilize ILL services. Whittemore Library belongs to the Minuteman Library Network, a collection of thirty-six public and seven academic libraries. The member libraries' collections contain over five million items, most of which are readily available to all the network partners. Materials from Minuteman are delivered daily. Items are also exchanged with libraries and other institutions outside of the network by mail and fax. Requests are usually processed within 48 hours of receipt and most items are obtained within two weeks. Whittemore Library strives to satisfy each patron's requests, however, some items are unavailable due to the item's scarcity.
Click here for the online ILL request form. Click here for a tutorial on how to use the ILL request from.
Items requested from other libraries in the Minuteman Library Network (MLN) will usually arrive within one week. Items requested outside the network may take up to two weeks to arrive. Please keep this in mind when placing requests.
Items are picked up at and returned to the Circulation desk.
Items received from other MLN libraries will have a three-week lending period. Items received from outside of the network will have lending periods set by the lending institution.
Items received from other MLN Libraries may be renewed, unless another patron has requested that item. Renewals may be done by calling the Circulation desk (508-626-4650), accessing "My Account" in the library catalog, or stopping at the Circulation desk. You do not have to bring the items with you in order to have them renewed. Items from outside of the network can only be renewed with permissions from the owning library. Contact the ILL Coordinator at 508-626-4690 to initiate renewal before the due date.
Items located in the online library catalog may be requested directly from the catalog. When at the item page, click on the request button. If you are not already signed in under "My Account," you will be asked to enter your library card number and PIN. (If you do not already have a PIN, you can establish one by following the instructions on the screen.) You will be asked to choose the library where you want to pick up the items when they arrive. It is optional to choose an "cancel if not filled by" date.
Items located through a source other than the library catalogue, such as a database or bibliography, should be requested using the Interlibrary Loan Online Request Form. Make sure to fill in the information that is asked for in order to ensure that your request will go through quickly.
The Commonwealth Catalog allows patrons to search the catalogs of multiple library networks in Massachusetts simultaneously. Participating members include the majority of library networks in the state. Before searching you will have to choose the library that issued your library card, your library card number, and your PIN/Password (the prompt asks for last name).
Massachusetts State University students may borrow items from any public college, community college, or university in the state. A valid student ID showing proof of enrollment for the semester entitles the student to borrowing privileges based on the lending library's rules. At Whittemore Library there is a limit of three items from the Curriculum Library. There is currently no limit on borrowing items from the main collection. The participating colleges are: