Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary Loan frequently asked questions

General

• How do I correct an incorrect response to a PENDING request?
  

  If you accidentally responded No to a request, then it is impossible to get the ILL request back to your Message File (Request Manager). The request is on its way to either the next lender or back to the borrower as an Unfilled request.

  If you responded Yes when you meant to say No, then there's still a chance to correct your error. If you haven't done a Replace command or exited the record, then you can use the Recall command and type a note of explanation in the Lending Notes field. You may also need to contact the borrower to explain the situation.
• How do I unlock a locked record?
  
  There are two distinct messages: the first is "RECORD IN USE," and the second is "RECORD IN USE BY ANOTHER USER." "RECORD IN USE" means your institution has use of the record. The ILL request may be in use by another member of your staff, you accidentally put it in the copy display, or, due to inactivity, the system timed out while the record was displayed. "RECORD IN USE BY ANOTHER USER" means that another institution has retrieved the record and is using it--try again later.If the error message you received is "RECORD IN USE," then check with other staff members to be certain someone else at your institution is not using the record. If you're unable to locate the record in use at your site, then contact OCLC Customer Services Division (CSD) at 1-800-848-5800 to have the record unlocked, or wait overnight and the record will be released.
• Is ILL lender/non-lender status included in all library lists?
  
  In response to requests from libraries, OCLC removed the ILL lender/non-lender status information from FirstSearch lists of libraries that own an item. Some users thought the information indicated a library's willingness to lend materials through any method. Actually, it indicated only whether the library lends materials through OCLC.
• What are the non-referral days for WorldCat Resource Sharing?
  
  OCLC treats the following as non-referral days:

  New Year's Day

  Thanksgiving

  Day after Thanksgiving

  Christmas Eve

  Christmas Day

  New Year's Eve