Request Books or Articles
COVID-19 Update
Shipping service: UC Davis faculty, staff, and students may also request material owned by UC Davis be shipped directly to an off-campus mailing address or placed on the new contactless Hold Shelf located in the lobby of Shields Library or the Carlson Health Sciences Library hold shelf.
Returning books: The library is indefinitely extending due dates. However, if you no longer need the material checked out to you, please return it so that others may also use it. If you’re in the local area you may return material in the book drops located at any of our library locations (excluding the Law Library) or remote book drops. If not local, email shieldsinterloan@ucdavis.edu and we will email you a postage-paid shipping label so that you may return the material to the library at no cost to you.
For more information about library buildings and services during this public health crisis, please see Coronavirus: Library Resources and Services.
Even with more than 10 million items in the UC Davis Library and more stored at one of the two UC-system storage facilities, users still find need for materials not in our collections. Our Interlibrary Loan service (ILL) borrows materials that aren’t available at UC Davis from UC system libraries or from libraries throughout the world in order to support university research, teaching, coursework, and patient care for UC Davis faculty, staff, and students.
Furthermore, in regards to those 10 million items dispersed across multiple UC Davis Library locations located in two cities, it can be difficult to find the time to come into the library to look for and borrow materials. Fortunately, the UC Davis Library recognizes this hardship and has a number of Document Delivery service (DDS) options available to make things simpler.
The Shields ILL Lending and Health Sciences ILL Lending units lend materials to other libraries worldwide to support their user needs whenever possible.
Need an Article?
In order to access all available search results or Request tools, users should sign-in to their library account before using UC Library Search or a licensed database.
Search your favorite database to find an article. If the needed article isn’t available online, click 
to then “Request through Interlibrary Loan.” Use the Comments field to indicate special information such as “patient care” or “supplemental material needed.” Users with patient care rush requests should also call 530-752-1978 to notify ILL staff of the request.
This service is provided free of charge to UCD faculty, staff, and students.
Individuals not affiliated with UCD are able to request copies of UCD-owned articles using the library’s fee-based Document Delivery Service (DDS).
Need a Book, Journal, DVD, or Something Else?
In order to access all available search results or Request tools, users should sign-in to their library account before using UC Library Search or a licensed database.
If UC Davis doesn’t own the physical item that you need, click the link to “Request through Interlibrary Loan” in your UC Library Search result.
If the search result is in Worldcat or another library database, click to request the material be delivered for pick-up from a library hold shelf.
If UC Davis owns the physical item that you need, you may request it using the same Request options noted above. ILL staff will simply direct your request so that it’s filled from our own collection. While searching UC Library Search, you’ll see an option to “Request” UCD-owned books, journal volumes, and media. This option has the benefit of bypassing ILL ordering systems and therefore may expedite fulfillment of your request.
If the item that you need is on the shelf here at UCD, it’ll be pulled by library staff and transferred to a different UC library location for more convenient pick-up. These items are generally available at their destination within 2-3 business days. These items may also be delivered via the library’s shipping service.
Still Can’t Find What You’re Looking For?
If you’ve searched UC Library Search, Worldcat, or other of our online databases and couldn’t locate what you need, please fill out the Blank Request Form to submit your request.
Contact
| Shields ILL | Monday-Friday 8am-5pm | shieldsinterloan@ucdavis.edu | (530) 752‑2251 |
| Health Sciences ILL | Monday-Friday 8am-5pm | hslborrow@ucdavis.edu | (530) 752‑1978 |