Southern Maine Library District Services: Interlibrary Loan

We welcome ILL requests from our district libraries. The PPL ILL staff is available to answer questions and solve mysteries from 8am to 4pm, Monday through Friday. If you are new to SMLD ILL or have questions about how it works, please read our guide.

Our goal is to provide you with fast, free loans from nearby libraries. If we do not find available copies in-state for you via WorldCat, we will search farther afield. If you do not want us to search beyond Maine or New England for you, please indicate so in the notes field.

For SMLD libraries who participate in the statewide delivery service but are unable to participate in MaineCat, we now offer the MaineCat Bridge Program, which enables you to request directly from MaineCat libraries. To learn more about this innovative opportunity, please call the ILL office at 871-1735.

Can you borrow this item from PPL? Before you fill out a Clio request form, please check our catalog, where you may reserve materials that PPL owns using your 14 digit PPL card number. Please note that recently published books, movies and textbooks are often difficult to obtain via ILL; many lenders place restrictions on high-demand items.

Clio Implemented July 2012

We are pleased to announce the launch of Clio, a web-based tool for managing OCLC ILL transactions. Clio gives SMLD libraries 24/7 access to your WorldCat ILL requests and allows you to receive, renew and return ILL materials online. In July 2012, we conducted eight Clio orientation sessions around the district. If you were unable to attend, you may still view/print the SMLD Clio User Manual. 

We have also created a few brief training videos to get you started. These screencasts require Java 1.5. Because there is no sound, you might find it helpful to turn the captions on (just below the video box). The screencast software also allows you to select a slower playback speed and customize the visual effects for your learning style. Take a look at what we have done so far, and stay tuned for more advanced topics this fall.

Video: Making New Requests in Clio

Video: Receiving Items in Clio

Video: Returning Items in Clio

Mamie Ney, the SMLD District Consultant, has created a request form template that you can use for gathering information from your patrons about their ILL requests. Download the template.

This page is intended for member libraries in the Southern Maine Library District. Are you an individual PPL patron, making a request for yourself? Please visit Patron Requesting instead.

If your library is NMLD, CMLD or out of state, please use this request form instead.