Ask Us! National University Library

If we do not have a book you are looking for available in electronic book format, there are several options available: 

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)  Book Chapter Request

You may request book chapters at no cost through our Interlibrary Loan service. Interlibrary loan allows you to request materials not owned by our Library. Library staff reach out to other lending institutions on your behalf to try and obtain requested materials. If you need help identifying which chapter to request, we recommend that you look up the book on Amazon or Google Books to view the table of contents. Locating the book publisher's webpage is also helpful to find more detailed contents.

To make your book chapter request, access Interlibrary Loan under Services in the navigation bar at the top of the Library's home page. If you have never used the ILL service, you must create an ILL account in order to submit requests. To request a book chapter through ILL, please submit a book chapter request including page numbers and the chapter title. A lending library will deliver the chapter electronically to your ILL account in 5-7 days.

For further instructions and screenshots, please see our ILL Book Chapter FAQ.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Entire Book Request

You can request to borrow a copy of the entire print book at no cost through our Interlibrary Loan service. Interlibrary loan allows you to request materials not owned by our Library. Library staff reach out to other lending institutions on your behalf to try and obtain the requested materials. We cannot guarantee that another library will accept our request to send us a physical book. This process takes significantly longer than requesting a digital chapter. If a lending library accepts our request, you will receive the book along with postage for returning.

To make your book chapter request, access Interlibrary Loan under Services in the navigation bar at the top of the Library's home page. If you have never used the ILL service, you must create an ILL account in order to submit requests.

For further instructions and screenshots, please see our ILL Print Resources FAQ.

Please note: Print books, print conference proceedings, and print dissertations/theses are not available though Interlibrary Loan due to time constraints and replacement costs. Also, you may not request required textbooks or any course-required readings through interlibrary loan.

Other Options 

Local Academic, Public or Special Libraries

You may also want to see if the book you are looking for is available through a local academic, public, or special library. We recommend using WorldCat to search for the item and then enter your location to find nearby libraries. To learn more about other library options, please see our Library Alternatives pages. 

Other Options

Lastly, for a book that you plan to use extensively or want to read in-depth, you may consider purchasing a new or used copy, or possibly renting the book in either print or e-book format through online vendors. This way you will have permanent access to the entire book in print. A selected list of book search websites and online vendors appears below.

BookFinder.com - searches over 150 million books for sale—new, used, rare, out-of-print, and textbooks from every major catalog online. When you find a book you like, you can buy it directly from the original seller.

Amazon - generally the largest online selection of new and used books; also provides textbook rentals.

Barnes & Noble - another large online selection of new and used books; also identifies if a particular book is available in a local Barnes & Noble store.

AbeBooks - millions of new books, used books, rare books, and out-of-print books are offered for sale from thousands of booksellers around the world.

Alibris - shopping at Alibris means that you are directly supporting local and independent sellers. They highlight the seller's location and ranking in each listing on our product pages.

Better World Books -  online for-profit bookseller of used and new books. Books sold on BetterWorldBooks.com help fund high-impact literacy projects in the United States and around the world.

Half.com - eBay marketplace where you can buy books at a fixed price. There is no waiting for an auction to end, Also provides textbook rentals.

ThriftBooks - more than 7 million used books for sale, from the earliest board books to the all-time classics of literature.