How do I request an item the OC Libraries doesn't have?
Answer
Normally, if you need a book, article, DVD, or CD that the OC Libraries does not currently own or have access to, you can request to have that item sent to you via Interlibrary Loan, or ILL. Currently, ILL services are only available for electronic articles, due to pandemic conditions across the country and in our state. Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a service through which Olympic College Libraries may request copies of journal articles and borrow books and other materials for our patrons from other libraries in the world. ILL requests are processed daily and take on average 5 to 10 days to arrive. Most libraries send ILLs via US Mail. They may therefore take longer to arrive if coming from outside of Washington State. Article requests will be obtained electronically and sent via email whenever possible.
ILL services are available to current students, faculty, and staff of Olympic College and current community patrons.
ILL requests may be submitted within our OneSearch Catalog, OCLC Wayfinder, or OCLC FirstSearch databases. When using the form provided within our OneSearch Catalog, please provide complete information, including title and author of books, and your first and last name and current contact information. When submitting a request for a journal article, complete the information at the bottom of the form, including journal title, date, volume or number (if available), pages numbers (if available), and article author. Complete information will help us process your request more quickly.
If you have any questions about interlibrary loans, please feel free to reach out to our librarians and they should be able to help!
