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Requesting Library Items: Interlibrary Loan: How long does it take to receive items through Interlibrary Loan?

How long does it take to receive items through Interlibrary Loan?

Interlibrary Loan is not an instantaneous service, so you must plan ahead and order items several days before you need them.

We endeavor to place requests as soon as we receive them.  How long it takes for you to receive your item is determined by how long it takes Concordia to process the request, plus how long it takes the lending library to fill the request, plus any transportation time.  The weeks around midterms and the end of semesters are the busiest times for ILL.

There are no “rush” orders. 

Books that are requested through I-Share are shipped via courier and usually take less than four business days to arrive. 

Books ordered from out of state are shipped through the U.S. Postal Service, or another ground carrier, and can take over a week to arrive. 

Journal articles are usually completed within four business days, but rare or obscure materials may take much longer to be processed.  Many journals are available in online format, but if there are no electronic versions of a journal the article must be scanned by hand, and that adds time to the request.