Requesting Articles and Books

Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan (DD/ILL) Services

The Duke University Medical Center Library's Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan Services are available to Duke Heath faculty, staff, and students. If you are too busy to scan materials or need items not available at Duke, this service can help you!

Highlights of this Service

• Submit requests online through our Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan System
• Includes email delivery of PDF journal articles from Duke and elsewhere
  Free PDFs from print journals at Duke, including those in Duke storage
  $11 fee for PDFs from journals not available at Duke
• 1 to 3 day turn-around for most requests
• Special rush service for faster delivery
• Free retrieval of books and audiovisuals from storage or other Duke libraries using the Library Catalog
• Free loans of health care and medical books and audiovisuals from outside Duke
  (Fees may apply to books not related to health care)
• Pick-up for books and audiovisuals at the Library’s Service Desk
• Pay for Interlibrary Loans by credit card, check or cash

Problems with or questions about the system?
Contact Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan at 919.660.1138 or send an e-mail to mcldd@mc.duke.edu.

• How do I make a request?

  Requests for journal articles, books, audiovisuals and other materials may only be submitted electronically through our Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan System. Phone requests are limited to emergency patient care situations ONLY. Once you have connected to the system with your DHE AD username and password, you may choose the request type from the Main Menu.

  Instructions for completing request forms:

  • Submit one form for each item requested
  • Complete all required information
  • Check "Rush" if you want faster delivery (additional $3.00 fee)
  • Not willing to pay a fee for an item NOT at Duke?  Choose that option for each request.
• When and how will I get the materials?
  • All requests are processed from 8 am - 5 pm, Monday through Friday.
  • Materials available on campus are usually retrieved within 48 hours.
  • Items located at off-campus libraries may take longer.
  • You can pick up requested books and audiovisuals at the Library’s Service Desk.
  • Journal articles will be delivered electronically to you usually within 48 hours.

  You can track the status of your requests through the Web at any time and from any location.

  Rush service (additional $3.00 fee) is available for delivery within 24 hours. (Limits may be placed on the number of rush requests)

  Emergency patient care situations are treated with the highest priority, and services can usually be provided within 2 hours in these special situations. Please submit your request and then call 919.660.1138 to alert us.

• Submitting a large number of requests (over 30) in one day?

  These requests may be processed over several days and the turnaround time may be longer.

• How does the Library deliver items to me?

  Articles will be delivered electronically to your desktop via an e-mail link. Books and other materials can be picked up at the Library.

  How do I get my articles when they arrive?

  1. Logon to the Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan System.
  2. From the Main Menu, click the "Electronically Received Articles" link under the View option.
  3. A list will be displayed containing all of the items that you have waiting to be viewed or downloaded.

  How do I get Adobe Acrobat Reader?
  If your computer tells you the requested file type is unknown and asks if you want to save the file to disk, then you need to install and configure Adobe Acrobat Reader software to view, download, and print articles. Adobe Acrobat Reader is available without charge from Adobe Systems, Inc.

• How do I track my requests?

  You can use the Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan System to track the status of your requests by simply signing into the system.

  Why don't I see all my older requests when I look at my request history?
  From time to time we purge older records from the Document Delivery/ILL system. Our policy is to keep requests online for several years order to comply with record keeping requirements of the copyright law.

• How do I log into the service?

  Use your DHE Active Directory username and password to login to our system.

  All Duke Health personnel should have a DHE login for access to network resources, such as the Windows login, Patient Information Network, VPN, Browser, VirtualPIN, etc. No one but you will know your password, not even the Library staff, which allows you secure access to information about you and your DD/ILL requests.

  The first time you login you will be asked to provide personal information, such as name, address, email, and preferences.

  All the information you provide will be preserved, so that you do not have to submit it with each new order. And, if your information or preferences change, you can login to make all the necessary adjustments.

• Forget your password or want to change it?

  The username and password that you use to login to the DHE network are the same ones you use to login to our Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan System. When you change your DHE password, you are changing the password you use to access the DD/ILL system too.

  In the event that you forget your DHE password, please contact the DHTS Help Desk at 919.684.2243. They can help you change your DHE password. When that is accomplished, you will be able to login to our system again. The Library does not keep information about your password so we cannot tell you what your password is, change it, or reset it.

• How do I pay online for an Interlibrary Loan?

  You can pay your invoice for Interlibrary Loans (ILLs) online at https://payments.mclibrary.duke.edu/ill using a credit card. Just enter the invoice number, payment amount, and billing information. This is a secure payment system which uses DukePay and meets all of Duke’s criteria for handling online and credit card payments.