Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has one of the largest collections of biomedical literature in the world. NLM's interlibrary loan (ILL) and document delivery services make these resources available to U.S. and international libraries as part of NLM's mission to collect, preserve, and disseminate biomedical information.

Annually, the Library responds to more than 250,000 requests, averaging over 1,200 requests daily for articles, books, audiovisuals and microform materials. NLM is the library of last resort for biomedical materials that are not available from local or regional libraries. For more information on the national network of medical libraries and health information centers coordinated by NLM see National Network of Libraries of Medicine® (NN/LM).

Submitting Interlibrary Loan Requests to NLM

Libraries are encouraged to submit interlibrary loan (ILL) requests through DOCLINE, NLM’s request routing and referral system.  For information about joining DOCLINE, please refer to the eligibility guidelines or contact your Regional Medical Library (RML).

Libraries that are not members of DOCLINE and that have established a borrowing relationship with NLM will submit requests through our ILL request form. For customer service assistance, or problems with an ILL request filled by NLM, please use our Report a Problem with ILL form.  Non-DOCLINE libraries who are interested in learning more about ILL from NLM should consult our ILL Fact Sheet.

Individuals who need access to medical literature should make a request through a local library or register with a Loansome Doc library that agrees to provide articles to them.  For more information, please refer to the Loansome Doc FAQs.

Please see our Interlibrary Loan Fact Sheet for information on NLM’s ILL service and charges:

• Access to NLM
  • U.S. Medical Libraries
  • U.S. Non-Medical Libraries
  • Canadian Libraries
  • Other Non-U.S. Libraries
• Borrowing Methods
• Request Requirements
• Loan Period
• Delivery and Returns
• Clinical Emergencies
• Charges
• Billing
• Images and Audio/Visual Materials
• Where to Submit Requests

Interlibrary Loan Billing

NLM offers two billing services. ILL Customers may choose to be billed through either the Electronic Fund Transfer System (EFTS) or the National Technical Information System (NTIS).

Electronic Funds Transfer System (EFTS) Information

NTIS Deposit Account Information

Preferred Delivery Methods

NLM's Preferred Delivery Methods are email and post-to-web. For more information about the delivery methods available from NLM, please see our Delivery Method FAQ.