Delivery Services

UM-Flint students, faculty, and staff can obtain research materials that are not available in the Thompson Library through Get This or through Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad).

Get This is for:

  • Circulating books owned by the University Library in Ann Arbor that the Thompson Library does not have.

To request books from Ann Arbor via Get This:

Interlibrary Loan is for:

  • Books, dissertations, and microforms not available in Flint or Ann Arbor
  • Copies of periodical articles or short sections of books not available in Flint

 

Please search the Ann Arbor catalog and use Get This for items that Ann Arbor owns. You may request most types of materials: books, photocopies of periodical articles, dissertations, and government documents. Materials that are difficult to obtain include:

  • Periodical volumes less than five years old (try requesting individual articles)
  • Reference books (try requesting individual entries)
  • Audio/visual materials
  • Bulky or fragile items
  • Extremely old books
  • Books on reserve, including textbooks
  • Rare or valuable material such as manuscripts

Login to ILLiad

More information about interlibrary loan

Check Mirlyn (for books) and Journal Finder (for journal and magazine articles) to make sure UM-Flint does not own the material.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?

About half of article requests arrive in 2 days, and about half of loan requests arrive in 1 week. It all depends on the rarity of the item you're requesting, the speed of the lending library, and shipping time. Want to know more about ILL's turn-around time? Check out the ILL Turn Around Times page for more information.

NOTIFICATION OF BOOK ARRIVAL

You will receive an email on your UM-Flint account when your materials arrive. You may pick up books at the Circulation Desk office by presenting your MCard.

ARTICLES

Articles are usually sent as links to electronic copies. You will receive an email on your UM-Flint account when it arrives, or you can login to ILLiad to check. Articles are accessible to you for 5 viewings or 14 days from the date of posting.

NOTIFICATION OF PHOTOCOPIES

Photocopies for faculty and staff are sent through campus mail. Students are notified by the preference indicated on the request card, usually once a week. Options include e-mail (strongly preferred) or phone. A valid picture ID must be shown to pick up materials. Copyright law limits the number of articles photocopied to five articles published in the same periodical during the current and the previous five years.

LOAN PERIOD AND RENEWALS

Place a renewal request through ILLiad by selecting "Checked Out Items" from beneath View. Click on the blue transaction number of the item you wish to renew. Click on the red "Renew Request" link at the top of the next screen. If you receive any sort of error at all, a renewal may not be possible, or this item must be renewed by phone: 734-764-8584. Renewal requests can be made only 1-5 days prior to the original due date. If you are unable to renew your item during this time, please contact the Interlibrary Loan office. Please note: Renewals are granted by the lending library, and depending on restrictions that they set for the item, may be denied.

RETURNING MATERIALS

Return materials to the Circulation Desk or the ILL office. It is important to return ILL books on time so as not to jeopardize our borrowing relationships with other libraries. Photocopies do not need to be returned.

FEES and FINES (BOOKS ONLY)

ILL overdue fines are the same as other Thompson Library overdue fines. All faculty, staff, and students are responsible for any fines and/or fees incurred due to loss or damage of materials obtained through ILL. Incurring fines may curtail your interlibrary loan privileges.

The maximum amount of fines is the replacement cost of the book plus processing fee. The replacement cost and processing fee are set by the lending library, not the Thompson Library.

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