Using UC Library Search

The best aspect of UC Library Search is that you can easily borrow items from the other nine UC campus libraries. The catalog records you find in UC Library Search will always tell you if the item is available from UC Merced's Library or has to be requested from another library.

NOTE: YOU CAN BORROW ONLY PRINT AND/OR PHYSICAL ITEMS FROM OTHER LIBRARIES. We will acquire copies of journal articles for you that you can keep, but you won't have access to databases, e-books, or materials in electronic formats that are available at other UC campus libraries.

There are two ways to start an interlibrary loan request. One way is to click the "ILL Request" link in the blue menu bar at the top of the screen. If you already know the title of the book you want, or you have the full citation of a journal article you want, this is the quickest way.

This will take you to the Interlibrary Loan Request form. You can ask for a book (NOT an e-book) or an article to be sent to you.

Whether you're asking for a print book or a journal article, you must fill in the fields marked with red asterisks. For books, this means the library needs the book title to complete your request. For articles, the library needs the title of the article, the title of the journal in which the article is published, and the volume number of the journal in which the article is published.

For both books and journal articles, you must check the box next to the copyright advisory at the end of the form. The library will not complete the request unless the box is checked. Once you've done that, click "Send Request."

You can also request an interlibrary loan directly from a catalog record in UC Library search. Let's say you want a journal article from a journal that UC Merced doesn't have. Here's an example. Unlike items that are immediately available, this catalog record says "Check availability." You can click the title of the article or the "Check availability" link. Both will take you to the full catalog record for the item.

The full catalog record includes a link to interlibrary loan:

The Interlibrary Loan link will take you to the request form seen above in this guide. This way of requesting interlibrary loans can be easier than the first way, as the request form is already filled out.

For more information on requesting interlibrary loans, please visit http://library.ucmerced.edu/use/borrowing/ill.