Yale Links is not only a handy online full text direct linking service – it also provides the easiest, fastest way of sending interlibrary loan requests for journal articles without requiring you to leave the database (e.g. Medline, PubMed, CINAHL) you are searching. This tutorial will demonstrate how to send interlibrary loan requests via Yale Links.

Yale Links is also an online full text direct linking service -- please see the "Using Yale Links" tutorial for detailed instructions.

Where do I find the Yale Links buttons?

As we explained in the Using Yale Links tutorial, the "Yale Links" buttons appear in various databases (e.g. Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL) to which Yale subscribes. (For a complete list, click here.) You can try to access the full text of the article and other Yale Links services by clicking on these buttons.

What are all these other buttons for?

As we have explained in the "Using Yale Links" tutorial, there are sometimes other buttons (often publisher icons) providing full text linking services in PubMed. These buttons are not Yale-specific -- they may or may not link to a full text provider Yale Library subscribes to. If Yale Links could not locate subscription-based online full text, you might also want to try these publisher icons to see if they link you to the full text for free.

The Yale Links Service Menu

A new window pops up after you click on the Yale Links button. In the new window, Yale Links reports if it can find online full text of the article you are looking for.

If Yale Links does not find online full text, before we place an interlibrary loan request, we should check the E-Journals Database and the Orbis catalog by clicking on the corresponding "GO" buttons in the Yale Links service menu, to see if the Library really does not have a subscription to the article in any format.

Why should I still check Orbis if Yale Links reports that nothing is found?

While Yale Links is mostly accurate, there can be many reasons why it sometimes gives false reports. Therefore we are requesting you to double check the Orbis catalog before you submit an interlibrary loan request. For details, please see the Using Yale Links tutorial.

Additionally, Yale Links only reports if it can find ONLINE full text of the article. If you are looking for older journal articles that might only be available in print format, that information is only available through the Orbis library catalog.

If we decide that the article is really not available from any of the Yale libraries. We can click on the "GO" button beside "Interlibrary Loan", to access the interlibrary loan service.

Set up or log in to your ILLiad account

After you click the interlibrary loan "GO" button in the Yale Links service menu, a new window pops up prompting you to log in to ILLiad -- the University Library's interlibrary loan system. If you are a first-time user, please click on the "First Time User Registration" link to set up your account. If you already have an account, just log in.

What is Illiad?

ILLiad is the electronic system the University Library uses to process interlibrary loan requests. The name ILLiad can be thought of as an acronym for InterLibrary Loan internet accessible database.

Review and edit your ILL information

After you log in, you can see that most parts of the interlibrary loan form have already been filled out for you! You just need to review the information and click the "Submit Request" button.

What happens after you hit the submit button?

After you submit your request, an email message will be sent to you confirming your request. You can also use the Illiad system to check the status of your outstanding request. To do this, click on the "Outstanding Requests" button in the Illiad main page under "Manage Requests".

When the item is available, another email message will be sent to you. In most cases, interlibrary loan articles are delivered electronically - the email message you receive provides a link and a PIN number. You can follow that link and use your email address and PIN number to download the article you requested.