What is ILLiad?

ILLiad is the electronic system you use to request an item through Interlibrary Loan. Use your ILLiad account to request, renew, and track items and to access articles. The name ILLiad can be thought of as an acronym for InterLibrary Loan internet accessible database.

Who may use Interlibrary Loan?

Interlibrary Loan is available to current and retired faculty, current staff, and current students of Samford University; however, students of the Cumberland School of Law should contact the Beeson Law Library for Interlibrary loan services.

If you are not a current faculty member, staff member, or student, you should contact your local public library for Interlibrary Loan services.

What is my username and password?

Use your Samford Username and Password for access to ILLiad. Your Samford username is the first part of your email address minus the @samford.edu.

Why do I need a username and password to use ILLiad?

Your username and password allows us to give you secure access to information about your interlibrary loan requests. Once logged on, you may Update Profile to edit your personal information such as your address or phone number. Students need to provide their SU Box (if living on-campus), local address (if living off-campus), or mailing address (if a distance learner). Staff and Faculty need to provide their campus office and also mailroom or secretary location for the address.

It is important that your personal contact information, preferences, and employment or enrollment status are all accurate and up to date.

What if I forget my password?

Since you use your Samford credentials for access to ILLiad, in the event that you forget your password, please contact the Technology Support Desk at (205) 726-2662.

What Web browser should I use?

You need a Web browser that can handle forms and tables. We recommend the current versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari.

Is security a problem if I use a public workstation?

Yes. Web browsers cache information and create a history file on the local workstation. This allows a subsequent user of the workstation to access the system under your name using the browser's Back button to recall a page from the cache, or by finding a page with your personal information in the browser's history file. If you are concerned about the security of your interlibrary loan requests, you can take the following steps:
  • Access ILLiad only from your personal computer or an otherwise secure workstation.
  • Access ILLiad from a public workstation in the Interlibrary Loan office in the library. These computers are supervised by the library staff.
  • When using a public access workstation:
    1. Delete from the history file those pages that contain your personal information.
    2. Exit from the Web browser before you leave the workstation. This prevents the Back button from accessing the pages you were using.

Why don't I see all my older requests when I look at my request history?

From time to time we purge older records from ILLiad. Our policy is to keep requests online for several years order to comply with record keeping requirements of the copyright law.

What is electronic delivery?

Many libraries ship photocopies of articles to us in electronic format. In the past we printed these articles before delivering them to you. Now, through ILLiad, we are able to offer you the option of electronic delivery of these articles in PDF format (Adobe's Portable Document Format). You can read more about electronic delivery on the Electronic Delivery Information page.

Who do I contact if I have problems with or questions about ILLiad?

Contact the InterLibrary Loan office by phone (205) 726-2983 or e-mail davisill@samford.edu

Why does my browser say that you're sending a cookie? What's in it?

The technology that we use sends a Session ID to be stored on your machine. This cookie is required to remain logged in to the ILLiad system.

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