How Long Do I Wait for My Request to be Filled?

Getting articles and books from other libraries depends upon how fast the staff at those libraries work.

Requests are processed to libraries in less than 2 business days, Monday's through Friday's, after receipt by the FIU Libraries ILLiad Staff. Many times we receive more than 300 requests per day.

After receiving the material from the lending library, we process it and make it available to you within about 1 business day. The time bandit is the other libraries and how fast they work to fill your request. Some delays are caused by staff needing to do extensive citation verification, especially for incomplete citations or hard-to-locate materials.

We are then dependent upon other libraries moving quickly to fill your request. This step can take an average of 10 business days -- or more, if the first round of ordering from other libraries is unsuccessful. We'd then need to resubmit your request to another set of libraries. After two unsuccessful rounds, we'll notify you that we were unable to find a library willing or able to lend the material. If you wish for us to continue requesting indefinitely, we'll gladly do this.

Bottom line -- we know you need the material you are requesting (otherwise you wouldn't have requested it), and we work hard to fill every request as quickly as possible. If we make a mistake, please tell us.


r>