Interlibrary loan (ILL) is a way for patrons of the Ida Public Library to gain access to items not within the library’s collection or in any of Prairie Cat’s member libraries. Through ILL, we have access to nearly every library in the state of Illinois and may request items from their collections. We may also request specific magazine or academic journal articles from any library that participates in ILL and receive email copies if an article is available.

It is not guaranteed that a lending library will grant an interlibrary loan request.

ILLs may be requested by Ida Public Library card-holding patrons only. All other card holders must contact their home library about requesting items via ILL. Ida card holders may have five ILLs per month. Due dates for ILL items are determined by the lending library. Requests for renewal must be made at least 3 business days prior to the current due date, as the lending library may accept or deny renewal requests at their own discretion.

For any questions regarding interlibrary loan or any items to request by ILL, please call the library at 815-544-3838 or email ill@idapubliclibrary.org .

Paper request forms may also be filled out in person at the library and ILLs may be requested through the online catalog by logging into your library account and finding the electronic form at the bottom of the page.