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Uborrow

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What is Uborrow?

When you quickly need books that are currently unavailable from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries, search Uborrow.

Uborrow enables you to search for and request books directly from 13 major research libraries, with combined collections of more than 90 million volumes.

Books requested through Uborrow will typically arrive on campus within a week and can be checked out for 12 weeks, with an option for 4 week renewal.

What University libraries are included in Uborrow?

  • Indiana University
  • Michigan State University
  • Northwestern University
  • Ohio State University
  • Penn State University
  • Purdue University
  • University of Chicago
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • University of Iowa
  • University of Michigan
  • University of Minnesota
  • University of Nebraska
  • Center for Research Libraries

Uborrow is a service of the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA), which is comprised of the universities of the Big Ten Conference plus the Center for Research Libraries.

Why use Uborrow?

Because items requested are from partner libraries committed to speed and accessibility of resource sharing materials, items will arrive quickly and have check out periods longer than traditional Interlibrary loan.

When to use ILL vs Uborrow

ILL Uborrow
Books

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Articles/book chapters

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Non-book loans (DVDs, microfilm, CDs, dissertations, maps, etc.)

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3-4 business-day delivery

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12-week loan period, one renewal for an additional 4 weeks

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International loans and articles

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Loans from a library other than the Uborrow libraries

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How to use Uborrow

1. Enter your search term(s) in the search box (Simple Search), or click on “Advanced Search” for more options.

  • Once you click the “Search!” button, Uborrow will take a moment to retrieve matches to your search. The “Searching” message and a spinning icon will display. Click a specific title from the search results to view detailed information and availability.
  • The message “Searching for all copies everywhere” will display as Uborrow determines the availability of the item at all participating libraries. You may need to scroll down the page to view availability.
  • If an item is available for request via Uborrow, the “Request” link will appear near the middle of the item’s page. If an item is available on our campus, Uborrow will take you directly to our local catalog. 
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2. Click the “Request” link to log in (if you have not already logged in with your NetID).

  • Once you are logged in, the request form will display, unless a default library pickup location has not been selected (see below). Though Uborrow is a separate service, Uborrow requests appear in the Interlibrary Loan request form. The form fields will be filled in automatically.
  • If you have not yet selected a pickup library location, you’ll be asked to do so before submitting your request.  Make a selection from the pulldown list and submit the information.  Then, return to UBorrow to complete the request.  Your default pickup library location may also be changed by logging in to your ILL account.

3. Click the “Submit Request” button at the bottom of the page to complete the request. You will receive an email when your item is available for pickup.