ILL Tips for Genealogists

Recently, JPL's Special Services manager, Heather Campbell, reminded me of a frequently asked question regarding Interlibrary Loan. She offers some helpful advice about how to get around this problem and obtain the information you are seeking.

Q: I'm trying to trace my family tree. I found the title of a book that may be helpful but wasn't able to borrow it through Interlibrary Loan. The reason the lady gave me was that libraries wouldn't loan it. How can I get this book through Interlibrary Loan?

A: Many libraries keep their genealogy books in a special reference collection that cannot be checked out to anyone. A few libraries will lend genealogy books if they have extra copies of the title. There's no way to tell ahead of time.

So, how do you get the information you need? Submit an ILL copy request for information from the book. You can ask for copies of pages from the book dealing with the specific ancestor or specific family name you're looking for.

1. You would enter this information in the Photocopy form in your Customer Interface account.
2. The name of the book would go in the Title space.
3. The Article Author would be the author of the book, in most cases.
4. The information you're looking for would go in the Article Title space. You will have a greater chance for success in getting what you're looking for if you are as specific as possible about what you're looking for. For example- if you entered : "I'm looking for James William Hill. Born 1876. Died 1914. ", you would have more success than if you entered: "I'm looking for Jimmy Hill."
5. Please limit each request to one name.

You may be pleasantly surprised. In some cases, we've asked for a photocopy and the owning library lent the book for use in the library only.