Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary Loan (also called ILL)

The Athenæum encourages members to make use of interlibrary loan to obtain material not held by the Library. Both books and periodical articles may be requested in person, by phone, or by email. Marika Cifor  illintern@bostonathenaeum.org. (617-227-0270 x280). Forms are provided at both the Reference and Circulation Desks.  Requests are normally filled within two weeks.  A reference librarian will be happy to explain the procedures or read more below.

Books

After checking Athena to be sure that the Library does not own a particular book, a member need only provide the author and title of a work.  A publication date is also helpful, but only necessary if a specific edition is wanted.

  • Because of the small size of our staff and their many duties, readers are asked to limit requests to no more than three or four books at a time.
  • It is not feasible for interlibrary loan books to be forwarded by mail to members. If unable to come in to the Athenæum or arrange to have a book picked up, members are encouraged to use their local library’s interlibrary loan service.
  • While the Reference Department makes every effort to fill any request, some books are difficult or impossible to borrow—reference books, rare or non-circulating items, genealogies, local histories, as well as new books in heavy demand. 
  • Some material loaned to us may be used only under certain restrictions: “in library use only,” or “no photocopying allowed,” for example.

Articles

If the Library does not subscribe to or keep a particular journal, members may request photocopied articles. A complete citation is necessary:

author, title, journal name, volume, date, and the inclusive page numbers of the article.

 The reference staff can assist readers in developing an accurate citation.

  • Photocopied materials can be forwarded to members unable to come to the Library.
  • Photocopies of specific newspaper articles can also be requested.
  • Members are asked to keep their requests to no more than three or four articles at a time.

Other Materials

The loan of non-print material is rare.  This kind of material includes microfilm, audio-visual tapes, DVDs, CDs, records, etc.  The Reference Department can assess the likelihood of filling a specific request and try to suggest viable alternatives for accessing the material.

  • Many libraries will loan microfilm and will loan it for use in the building. The Library has a microfilm reader/printer for making copies (25¢ per page).
  • Libraries do not loan archival, rare, or manuscript material (unless available on microfilm) and even photocopies can be hard to obtain.