Interlibrary Loan Information

Have you checked MeLCat?

If you find an item in MeLCat (a catalog of over 175

Michigan libraries), you might receive it faster.

 

OR

Logon to ILLiad

 

Our goal in the Interlibary Loan department is to provide materials you need from other libraries in a timely manner. We offer two ways to request materials from other libraries.

MeLCat is a catalog of over 175 libraries in Michigan that cooperate to share materials within the state. Your requests go directly to another Michigan library that owns the material and is delivered through a service that comes to Cornerstone 5 times a week.

For material not available through MeLCat, we use a program called ILLiad to process and record your requests. Please register to use this free program so that you can take advantage of our services. If you need help with ILLiad or have any questions, please email us at illiad@cornerstone.edu, call 616-949-5300 ext. 1976 or stop by the ILL office in person. Our office is located in the Technical Services area of the library (along the north wall just past the Circulation Desk).

Some ILL Guidelines: 

  • Please allow a minimum of one week for ILL materials to arrive. Most materials arrive within one to two weeks.
  • The interlibrary loan office exists primarily to meet the educational needs of the Cornerstone community. If your request is for entertainment purposes, please use the MelCat system instead of ILLiad. 
  • A limit of five materials per week can be requested through ILL. If you request more than that, five per week will be chosen at random until all have been filled.
  • We cannot process request for textbooks at this time.
  • Only registered students, faculty, or staff of Cornerstone University are authorized to use interlibary loan services.
  • Miller Library participates in free reciprocal interlibrary loan. This service is free to you as long as the other library does not charge. If a charge is listed by the other library (often the case with dissertations), you will be notified and will have the option to pay this charge and to receive the material or to cancel your request.

Important Copyright Information

WARNING CONCERNING COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research". If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use", that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

 
 

Instructions for ordering online through FirstSearch:

 

To Begin (for all material types):

  1. From the library home page or from this page, click on FirstSearch.
     
  2. If accessing from off campus, type in your name and Cornerstone ID number (check your ID Card if uncertain).
     


 

For Books:

  1. Select Advanced Search from the menu on the left and make sure WorldCat is listed in the "Search in" box.
     
  2. Perform a search to find the book you want, using one or more of the following options:
    • Enter all or part of the title of the book, and select Title in the Keyword Index field.
       
    • Enter the last name of the author (or lastname, firstname), and select Author in the Keyword Index field.
       
    • Enter keyword(s) or subject(s), and select Subject in the Keyword Index field.
       
  3. From the resulting list, locate the book you want by clicking on the title.
     
  4. If FirstSearch indicates that Miller Library owns this item (shown by symbol), please check the book out of our library, rather than borrowing it from another library. If Miller Library does not own the item, proceed to step 5.
     
  5. Click on the Submit an ILL Request link near the top of the citation.
     
  6. Logon to your ILLiad account and submit the necessary information.
  7. You will be notified when your item(s) arrive or if any questions arise regarding your request.
     


 

For Articles:

  1. Click on "List All" on the left side of the screen to select up to three databases to search at a time.
     
  2. Choose the appropriate databases and click on the select button.
     
  3. Perform a search to find the article you want, using one of the following options:
    • Enter all or part of the title of the book, and select Title in the Keyword Index field.
       
    • Enter the last name of the author (or lastname, firstname), and select Author in the Keyword Index field.
       
    • Enter keyword(s) or subject(s), and select Subject in the Keyword Index field.
       
  4. From the resulting list, locate the article you want by clicking on the title.
     
  5. If FirstSearch indicates that Miller Library owns this journal (shown by symbol), please check the catalog (by clicking on "search the catalog at Miller Library) to see if the library owns the issue you need. If Miller Library does not own the item, proceed to step 6.
     
  6. Click on the Submit an ILL Request link near the top of the citation.
     
  7. Logon to your ILLiad account and submit the necessary information.
  8. You will be notified when your item(s) arrive or if any questions arise regarding your request.