The Inter-Library Loan Office has published a handy guide, which explains the differences between inter-library loan service and Borrow Direct, for those pesky times that Columbia’s Libraries don’t own an item, or all copies are checked out. Highly recommended!

Note that music scores can be requested through either service (Borrow Direct is faster). While ILL is the recommended service for recordings, be aware that many libraries do not supply media. One other possibility: Princeton, who participates in Borrow Direct, will generally supply sound recordings.

Because the Borrow Direct search interface allows searching only by title or by author, it can sometimes be challenging to search for music scores or recordings. If you need some help in doing this, please contact us at music@libraries.cul.columbia.edu – we’ll be happy to help you try to track things down.