Request Books or Articles
COVID-19 Update
Interlibrary loan: Due to the current public health emergency, most libraries worldwide are closed or have limited operations. During this time, physical delivery of interlibrary loan materials has stopped, including materials held at the UC’s Northern Regional Library Facility. However, it is still possible to order articles and book chapters via interlibrary loan/document delivery service for digital delivery.
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.
Returning books: The library has suspended recalls and 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?
Search your favorite database to find an article. If your article isn’t available online, click the 
or 
button and then click “Interlibrary Request.” Use the “Notes” field to indicate special information such as “patient care” or “supplemental material needed.” In most cases, an electronic copy of the article will be sent to you within 24-hours. If you’re having difficulty, check our ILL Quick Guides:
No matter where you begin your research, these guides offer a quick “how to” on what to look for and how to order an article.
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). Users must register for this service and use the request form provided.
Need a Book, Journal, DVD, or Something Else?
If UC Davis doesn’t own the physical item that you need, click either the button in Melvyl, the UC-wide library catalog, or the “Interlibrary Request” link in Primo, our UCD-specific library catalog. ILL staff will search libraries worldwide for the material and have it shipped to the library for your use.
If UC Davis owns the physical items 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. If logged in to your library My Account while searching Primo, you’ll see a third “Request” option to request UCD-owned material. This third option has the benefit of bypassing ILL ordering systems and therefore may expedite fulfillment of your request.
UCD items that are on loan will be recalled from the current borrower. These items are generally available within the next 7 days and can be picked up at the UCD library location of your choice. 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 UCD library location for more convenient pick-up. These items are generally available at their destination within 2-3 business days.
Still Can’t Find What You’re Looking For?
If you’ve searched Melvyl, Primo, or other of our online databases and couldn’t locate what you need, please fill out the Blank Request Form to submit your request.
Follow Up on Your Request
The My ILL Requests website shows details of your Shields Library ILL requests for books, journal, and media, both in-process and received. This is the best way to renew currently checked out ILL books. ILL requests for articles and any of the Health Sciences ILL transactions are not visible in this system. To check on the status of these ILL requests, please use the contact information below.
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 |
| Evening and Weekend ILL (All Disciplines) |
Monday-Thursday 5pm-9:30pm Saturday 12pm-5pm Sunday 10am-5pm |
hslborrow@ucdavis.edu | (530) 752‑1978 |