When Decker Library doesn't own an item you need, we can either borrow the item from another library on your behalf (also called an Interlibrary Loan) or you can visit one of the many libraries in our area that participate in the Baltimore Academic Library Consortium (BALC) (scroll down to bottom of page).

INTERLIBRARY LOAN

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) allows you to access material Decker Library doesn't already have in the collection. ILL is a free service available to all current faculty, students, and staff.

Please note that not all items will be available through ILL, but we will make every attempt to find what our users need. You can also make a purchase suggestion if you think the MICA community would benefit from a particular book or film and we do not yet own.

Request a book, article, or DVD/visual media via interlibrary loan

Situations in which you could use ILL:

• If there is a book you cannot find in the library catalog
• If there is a film or other media you cannot find in the library catalog
• If there is an article in one of our databases or online that is behind a paywall and inaccessible

Turnaround/delivery time

ILL items generally take 1-2 weeks to arrive for physical items (e.g. books, DVDs), and 3-5 days for scanned copies of articles or book sections.

Considering this delay in shipping, it may sometimes be faster to take advantage of the Baltimore Academic Library Consortium (BALC) (visit its Borrowing Policies page for information) or visit the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore City's public library system.