ILL ... What is that?

Many times librarians are caught up in the jargon - NSLS, ISLMA, ACRL, OCLC ... ILL.

We admit it, we get a bit enthused about acronyms.

Today, I only want to talk about one - ILL.

ILL refers to inter-library loan and library users, who know about it, love it. ILL allows users to request books that the Murphy Library doesn't own, from other libraries in Illinois, across the nation, even abroad!

Up til recently, it was something you could only do in person. Now, you can do it anywhere you have Internet access.

Here are the steps:

1) Visit the Murphy Library online.

2) Choose FirstSearch, under the heading of Electronic databases.

3) Login by entering your CLC ID number.

4)Click on Worldcat.

5) Search an item you're looking for.

6) Once you're viewing a particular item, click on the ILL button located in the top left portion of the screen.

7) Enter your information.

8) Click on submit.

The Murphy Library circulation staff will contact you when your item arrives.

(Picture: River Seine in Paris)