Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Service

If you need additional information about Medical Library interlibrary loan services, contact ILL at (617) 358-2352 or illmed@bu.edu

Journal articles, books and book chapters, and other materials not held at the Alumni Medical Library are available through interlibrary loan (ILL). Interlibrary loan items usually take 2-10 working days to arrive: electronic items (journal articles and book chapters) usually arrive within a few days, while print books may take longer.

Library staff will contact you when the requested item arrives. Interlibrary loan materials will be sent to you via email in the case of electronic materials, or held at the Circulation Desk for pick-up if it is a physical item.

Print ILLs may be picked up at the Library Circulation Desk, Monday-Friday 7:30am-6:00pm. After 6pm Monday-Friday, and at any time during the weekend, please check at the Circulation Desk (617-358-4902) to find out if a full-time staff member will be able to assist you with your interlibrary loan pick-up.

Submit interlibrary loan requests using this form.

Interlibrary loans are available to faculty, staff and students of the Boston University schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine, Public Health, and the Boston Medical Center only. Affiliates of the Boston University Charles River Campus can request interlibrary loans through Mugar Library.

Another option for finding materials not owned by the Alumni Medical Library is to take advantage of Boston University’s membership in the Boston Library Consortium (BLC). Membership in the BLC entitles you to use many of the collections of other Boston Library Consortium libraries, including those at Tufts University, Northeastern University, University of Massachusetts and many others. [Note: Although Harvard University is NOT a member of the BLC, you can visit the Harvard University Countway Library of Medicine as a BU student, faculty, or staff member. See the Library’s Countway page for more information.] Be sure to get your BLC Card at the Reference Desk before going to other BLC libraries. Click here for a list of BLC member libraries and links to their online catalogs.