Order from Other Libraries

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible for interlibrary loan?

Active UWindsor students, faculty, and staff without outstanding library fines can use the interlibrary loan service.

Is there a cost for using ILL?

The Leddy Library provides this service for free to our users in the vast majority of cases. Most loans are fulfilled within Ontario or elsewhere in Canada and in these cases there is no charge. In special cases, the cost to borrow an item may exceed the amount that we can subsidize. For example, a rare item that has to be shipped from overseas. In this case, you will be notified about the cost before we place the request.

How long can I loan the book for?

The loan period for your item may vary depending on the item-owning institution's policies. We try to find a copy of your requested item within Omni first which is our Ontario consortial borrowing system of 18 participating libraries. Most loans from our Omni partners will be for 120 days.  If an item is not available in Omni, we then use a broader Interlibrary Loan (ILL) system to request items from other partner libraries, as well as libraries from around the world. 

As a result, be sure to check your account for due dates and pay attention to all email notices which will inform you when your book should be returned. 

What are the terms and conditions of digital resource borrowing?

If the library creates a scanned copy of a print item such as a book or journal article that is in copyright, you may only request a copy of a single short excerpt from that work. For example, a short excerpt might be a single article from a journal issue or a single chapter from a book in accordance with the University of Windsor's Fair Dealing Policy. 

For born-digital resources like ebooks and journals, the library's license terms for electronic resources will dictate how much of the item can be shared through interlibrary loan. The article /document you receive via this service will be used by you solely for the purpose of research, private study, education, parody, satire, criticism, review, or news reporting according to most licenses. 

Are the fines for late or lost items?

In most cases, you won't be charged unless you lose the item you borrowed or fail to return it and it goes to lost status. Patrons will be given 30 days to return materials that are overdue before it is declared lost.

Once an item is assigned a "lost" status due to non-return, a $125 default replacement charge will be applied to a user's account. Once again, please pay careful attention to all notices about your loans and check your account for due dates.

Can I return my items to any university in Ontario?

All Omni partners and satellite and affiliate campus libraries will accept the return of any library materials owned by any other Omni partner. The item-accepting institution will ship the item back to the item-owning Omni partner via their preferred shipping method. There will be no charge to the patron for this service, and the item-accepting institution will incur the shipping charge. This service doesn't include universities outside of this group.

Participating Omni Partners

Algoma University	McMaster	Trent University
Brock University	Nippissing University	University of Waterloo
Carleton University	OCADU	Western University
University of Guelph	Ontario Tech/Durham College	Wilfred Laurier University
Lakehead University	Ottawa	Windsor
Laurentian University	Queens	York

Can I request scans of print items to be sent to me?

Requests for scanning or digitization of in-copyright works are typically limited to campus fair dealing guidelines. Across Canada, this is usually 10% of a work, 1 chapter, or 1 article from a journal (whichever is greater) and at the discretion of the library. So, if you are requesting digitization of a part of a work be sure to clearly specify what part you need to ensure your request is able to be fulfilled.

Can I borrow items while visiting other libraries in person?

Yes, while interlibrary loan is a convenient way to have items shipped to Windsor from other libraries, you can also borrow directly from many other libraries in Canada and the US while visiting them. For more information please visit our page on Borrowing Agreements with Other Institutions.

How can I recover my account information?

Omni ILL uses your UWin Account. If you are having trouble logging in, use the Campus IT website to manage your account. 

Can I request a textbook for my class?

Before requesting from another institution, check to see if the Library has the textbook through Course Resources and Reserves or ask your professor about placing a copy of your course text on reserve at the library. You can always search to see what is available from other institutions in Omni. However, many libraries reserve their textbooks for their students. 

Using Interlibrary Loan

Using the Blank Request form

1. Open the blank “Interlibrary Loan” request form. This is also located in the top navigation bar in Omni.
2. Sign in with your UWin Account.
3. Fill out the request form providing as many details as possible about your item to ensure your request is fulfilled. Insufficient information about your request may result in it being unfulfilled.
4. If you know the DOI or PMID of the item you're looking for, paste it in the DOI or PMID field and the form will auto-fill for you.

Search and Request in Omni

1. Log in to My Library Account.
2. Start a "New Search" to look for items.
3. If the item is not available in our collection, there will be a “Get it from another library” link in the “How to get it” section of the record.
4. Complete the request form and select submit. The system will ensure your request is directed to the library that can fill it the quickest.
5. If you’re not seeing what you are looking for, expand your search results by selecting “Add results beyond our Collection” using the toggle in the left navigation to see more.

Search and Request from our Databases

1. If you're searching for articles using one of our databases, click the "Get it" button to check for access.
2. If you discover an article or resource that we don't subscribe to, you'll be presented with a link "Get it from another library".
3. Click the link, and submit your request. the ILL team will process your request.

Questions? Talk to us!