Please Note: Document Delivery and Interlibrary Loan Services have been limited during COVID. Older and more obscure articles may be more difficult to acquire. Book borrowing may be limited with delays.
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
- There is no charge to Duke borrowers for all article requests.
- If there are copyright or other fees associated with your article request, we will contact you.
- Includes email delivery of PDF journal articles and book chapters from Duke and elsewhere
- 1 to 4 day turn-around for most requests. Larger requests may take longer than 4 days to fill.
- Please check if articles are available in Duke collections before making a request. Check tips for "Finding Specific Journal Articles & Full Text" or call 919.660.1138 for assistance.
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.
- Who can use this service?
The Medical Center Library's Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan Service is available to Duke Health faculty, students, and staff and UHMS members. University patrons should make requests through their primary library at Duke. This service is not available to non-Duke research and academic collaborators.
- How do I log into the service?
Use your DHE Active Directory username and password to login to our system. This is usually the same as your Duke NetID username and password.
All Duke Health personnel should have a DHE Active Directory username and password for access to network resources, such as the Windows login, Patient Information Network, VPN, etc. No one but you will know your password which allows you to securely access information about your DD/ILL requests.
The first time you login you will be asked to provide personal information, such as name, address, email, and preferences. This information will be preserved so that you do not have to submit it with each new order. If your information or preferences change, you can login to make all the necessary adjustments.
- 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 Duke NetID 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
- When and how will I get the materials?
- Requests are processed from 9a - 4p on Monday - Friday.
- Materials available on campus are usually retrieved within 72 hours.
- Items located at off-campus libraries may take longer.
- Journal articles or book chapters will be delivered to you electronically as PDF links usually within 72 hours.
You can track the status of your requests through the Web at any time and from any location.
How do I get my articles when they arrive?
- Logon to the Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan System.
- From the Main Menu, click the "Electronically Received Articles" link under the View option.
- 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 get an urgent patient care request?
Emergency patient care situations are treated with the highest priority and we will attempt to provide service within 2 hours for these urgent requests. Please submit your request (with a message in the notes field on the form) and then call 919.660.1138 to alert us.
- How much does the service cost?
- How do I pay online if not a Duke borrower?
You can pay your invoice for Interlibrary Loans 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 credit card payments.
- 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 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.
- 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 and need to change it, please contact the DHTS Help Desk at 919.684.2243. 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.