Library Services FAQ: Interlibrary Loan FAQs

Special collection are, well, special. Most libraries are digitizing their special collections; so, it's a good idea to check online repositories first; for example: HathiTrust and Dp.la.  The Library of Congress lends some rare or hard-to-get items, but they require 20 days to process requests, and, all loaned LOC items are for in-library-use only. And, some university libraries do lend out their special collections items. So, the answer to this question is that the ILL librarian will do their best to get what you need; but, we usually need a bit more time that ordering a usual ILL item.