Create and track your ILL and scan requests in the USask Resource Sharing portal.

Alumni, external borrowers and some other groups are not able to log in to the Resource Sharing portal. Instead, email illquery@usask.ca with your ILL or scan request. See about ILL and scan request for more details.

4 ways to make a request

1. USearch

Find an item using USearch, open the record and select How to get it.
If not available from our library, select the Go button next to Request it from another library.
The request form will open and automatically populate with the information for the item.
Complete the form by selecting your pickup location (if necessary), confirming your email address is correct, accepting the copyright statement, and selecting submit.
Select All Requests to track the status of your item(s).

2. Catalogue (scan request only)

Find an item in our collection using the catalogue.
In the item record, select the Request Chapter/Article Scan button.
The request form will open and automatically populate with the information for the item.
Add details about which section(s) you need including article/chapter title, author, volume, issue or pages.
Complete the form by confirming your email address is correct, accepting the copyright statement and selecting submit.
Select All Requests to track the status of your item(s).

3. Manually fill out the request form

Search the library catalogue to see if we have the item you need.
If we do not have the item, or you want a scan of part of it, log in to the USask Resource Sharing portal to create your request.
Under Add Request, select the item type and complete as much of the form as possible. Including the ISBN for books or ISSN for journals is particularly helpful.
If you are requesting a physical item, select your pickup location.
Confirm your email address is correct, read and accept the copyright statement, and select submit.
Select All Requests to track the status of your item(s).

4. Google Scholar

To use Google Scholar, you first need to connect your USask library account. Follow the directions on our connect off-campus page.

Find an item using Google Scholar and select to show more options, then Get It @ USask Library. This will take you to the USearch results page.
Select the Go button next to Request it from another library.
The ILL/scan request form will open and automatically populate with the information for the item.
Complete the form by selecting your pickup location (if necessary), confirming your email address is correct, accepting the copyright statement, and selecting submit.
Select All Requests to track the status of your item(s).

How to request an interlibrary loan

About ILL and scan request

Testimonials

"Since 2011 I have frequently used the U of S Interlibrary Loans service to support my academic work. Throughout … Interlibrary Loans was an essential and invaluable service, and I continue to use it for my current research projects. I do not have enough words to express my appreciation for the superb staff who always provided me outstanding and friendly service, went the extra mile for me, and continue to do so."
Lucille Otero, PhD – Affiliated Faculty

“The excellent ILL service maintained by the professional library staff is indispensable for my research on Chinese history.”
Gary Luk – USask Employee

"The Interlibrary Loan service is the unsung hero of the U of S library. It exponentially expands its stacks and the intellectual horizons of students, faculty, and staff, simultaneously."
Maurice Labelle – Faculty & Staff

“I am a long-time user of the interlibrary loan service … I could not effectively conduct my research without it, and for that I am indebted to the University of Saskatchewan staff.”
Rob Flannigan - Faculty & Staff

“I would like to … highlight, and express my thanks to, what I regard as one of the treasures of the University of Saskatchewan: our Interlibrary Loans division. Over the years, I have found the staff in the Interlibrary Loans office a delight to work with … they have consistently gone above and beyond the call by helping me to access arcane and/or quite recent material. I quite literally could not do my work without the support of the Interlibrary Loan staff: their dedication and efficiency deserve to be commended.”
John Porter - Faculty & Staff

“Our ILL team got me through a PhD program. They are outstanding resource detectives who are there for everyone on campus and a terrific group of people to get to know.”
David Smith – Librarian

“Interlibrary Loans have been integral for my work in my undergraduate degree … Interlibrary Loans gives me access to books and articles that our library doesn't have and allows me to do research that otherwise wouldn't be possible.”
Chloe Peters – Undergraduate Student

“As a graduate student working from outside of Saskatoon I have accessed and continue to access Interlibrary Loan services through Distance and Distributed Library Services on a pretty regular basis. The search system is user friendly and the turnaround time in processing and delivery of the books that I need is always quick and efficient.”
Gemma Porter - Graduate Student – Off Campus Distance

“We have a wonderful library but, when you start to do advanced research on a quite narrow and specific topic, you may reach the limits of our local resources. But wait, help is at hand: Interlibrary Loans! Our staff members are most helpful and the system works very quickly. In no time, you will have the books or articles you need drawn from other university libraries across Canada. Your research will proceed unimpeded.”
Don Cochrane - Professor Emeritus

“The University Library’s interlibrary loan/document delivery (ILL) service is a jewel within our library system. The knowledge and efficiency of the staff, combined with rapid and easy delivery—in many cases right to email, provide most requested resources more quickly than one would imagine. In the many years that I have been a humanities librarian at USask I have used ILL extensively in my own research, and have also been able to guide faculty and students to this remarkable resource that, quite seamlessly, brings the world of library research to all of us at USask.”
Donna Canevari de Paredes - Librarian

“I recently earned my PhD and I would not have made it without the quiet heroic presence of the Interlibrary loan team. Over the years, I have come to be acquainted with almost each one of them, I appreciate how valuable they are as individuals and as a team in assisting and ensuring students’ success. With gratitude, I am taking my hat off and bless each one of you in the ILL team.”
Penelope Sanz - Graduate Student

“As a frequent user of the Interlibrary Loan Services for more than three decades (beginning in 1985), I consider the Interlibrary Loan Department of the University of Saskatchewan the most important unit within the University of Saskatchewan Libraries, seminal to and in part responsible for allowing me to establish my profile as a researcher on an international level.”
Dr. Walter Kreyszig – Professor Emeritus

For other libraries

Most academic, public, corporate and government libraries are welcome to borrow materials from our library using interlibrary loan.

Submit requests through your interlibrary loan system (e.g. Relais, VDX, OCLC) using the following library codes or include your library code in the appropriate field:

ILL request symbols
ILL system	Symbol	Payment type
Library and Archives Canada (Relais)	SSU	Invoice to follow (if applicable)
OCLC WorldShare	UOH	IFM
Docline	SKCSKS	EFTS

If your library does not have an ILL system, contact us for assistance.

Books, microfilm and other circulating items are shipped via Canada Post.
Documents and copies are provided as an email attachment.

Contact

Office hours: Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm

illquery@usask.ca

(306) 966-5963

Mailing address:
Resource Sharing, University Library
University of Saskatchewan
Room 122, Murray Library
3 Campus Drive
Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A4

Other Resource Sharing services

Distance and Distributed Library Services (DDLS): Many members of the USask community can register with Distance and Distributed Library Services (DDLS) to have library materials mailed directly to your door anywhere in Canada. This service is free but requires registration.
Saskatchewan Health Information Resources Program (SHIRP): SHIRP is a program of the University Library that provides Saskatchewan's healthcare professionals with access to electronic journals, databases, clinical tools and more. This service is free but requires registration.

Interlibrary loan and scan request