This document provides information and instructions for using interlibrary loan (ILL) services through CMLE. It includes: 1) Reminders for patrons about checking due dates and renewals online, as well as returning items with paperwork. 2) An introduction of Laurie Borchard, the new Lead ILL Assistant who can help with any ILL issues. 3) Step-by-step instructions for new patrons on how to place ILL requests online through the CMLE website.

1. CMLE ILL Important Information
Table of Contents
Reminders…
Introducing…
New to ILL?
Bag Delivery
Searching for Library Materials?
Who Did I Request This Item For?
Placing a Renewal Via the Web
Checking an Items Renewal Status
Overdue Items
I Want to Cancel this Request
Cancelled vs. Unfilled
Reminders…
 Always check Your Borrowing Record for due dates, renewals, and etc. This can be done
on website in the same gray box that is used for requesting items.
 You will need your library’s barcode and password to submit requests. If you have
forgotten them, misplaced them or just plain need them, please email CMLE at
cmle@stcloudstate.edu or call us at (320) 308-2950.
 When returning items, always put the paperwork that came with the item back into the
item.
 CMLE will not be doing interlibrary loan of media items unless those items can be found
at GRRL.
 CMLE works with lending libraries in the Minitex region, (Minnesota, Wisconsin, North
Dakota, and South Dakota); if we cannot find your request in the region we will have to
cancel it. Use WorldCat when searching for an item; it will tell you what states your item
is available in.
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Introducing…
Last Spring, CMLE acquired a CMLE Assistant named Laurie Borchard. Laurie has returned this
year as our Lead ILL Assistant. This means that she will be working on the requests you send into
us and working with you if there are any problems.
Laurie is a Senior at St. Cloud State majoring in Information Media and minoring in English.
Next year, she will be attending graduate school to become a Librarian. That’s right, a librarian.
If you have any interlibrary loan (ILL) issues, please contact her at cmle@stcloudstate.edu or by
phone at (320) 308-2950.
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2. New to ILL?
Do you have patrons that want to borrow items that your library does not have? CMLE can help
get those items to your library.
1. To request items, go to our website at www.cmle.org. There is a gray box on the right of
the opening screen that says Interlibrary Loan (for Members Only. In that box is an option
for book or article requests. Click the type that you wish to request.
2. The next screen will prompt you for your library’s barcode and password. (If you do not
know your library’s barcode and password please email CMLE at cmle@stcloudstate.edu
or call us at (320) 308-2950.
3. Type in all the information you know about the item. You must have the author and title;
if the ISBN is known, please include it because it is very helpful to CMLE.
Choose the book/article
depending on your request
Type in the author, book, and
ISBN (if known). Type in other
information if known as well.

3. 4. Scroll to the bottom of this screen and click the box next to the sentence: “I have read the
above statement and agree to abide by its restrictions.” Then click go.
5. The next screen to appear will be a confirmation of the request. Exit this screen.
6. You have successfully placed a request with CMLE!
Once you have placed your request and CMLE has processed it, you will need a place to pick it
up. But wait! Where do you pick up your item? Well, you need to be on our bag delivery system.
For information on our bag delivery system, see the section on bag delivery.
If you would like to keep the book for a longer period of time, see our section on renewals.
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Check that you agree.
Click go.
Click exit.

4. Bag Delivery
Is your library/media center on our bag delivery system? If so, ignore this section. CMLE does
not have the ability to send items directly to your library or media center, but has several delivery
options. Most of our members can choose a public library pick-up location whether the library is
on their way to work, near their library/media center, or on their van drivers route.
Someone from the public library will notify you via email or phone that you have a delivery bag at
the library that is ready to be picked up. Returns of items will also happen at your public library
using the bag. Don’t forget to flip the bag tag over so that CMLE’s information is showing.
Delivery can feel complicated until it is figured out. Feel free to call us at (320) 308-2950 or
email Samantha TerBeest at saterbeest@stcloudstate.edu to review your delivery options.
Note: If you are on our red bag delivery system, please be aware that you have two weeks to pick-
up the bag(s). If the bag is not picked up within that time period, the public library will return the
bag to CMLE.
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Searching for Library Materials?
Try any of the following items:
1. ELM 4 You Portal: These free databases are free to all Minnesotans, and are used for the
most part to search for articles. Go to http://www.elm4you.org/ to see them organized by
subject, or alphabetical by title. Hot tip: Scroll down the list for WorldCat, the absolute
best database to search for books. Use the advanced search and when you get your search
results, click on the libraries worldwide to see if anyone in MN, WI, SD, or ND owns the
item. If so, our staff would be happy to arrange the loan for you. Just copy and paste the
information into our online form.
2. Global search on St. Cloud State and All MN Colleges (70 total): www.mnpals.net/F
If you just type in the search box, you search all libraries. You can isolate and search only
St. Cloud State, by using the pull-down menu by Library to Search.
3. MnLINK: http://www.mnlinkgateway.org
At the opening screen, you can see all of the library systems that are a part of MnLINK.
This is the best way to search for things most likely in a public library.
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5. Who Did I Request This Item For?
We recommend that you put the name of your patron in your request for tracking purposes. Use
the Where was information on this book found? field to do this when placing a request. This will
appear on your paperwork as the Source. Putting the patron’s names elsewhere may mean it will
not print out on your paperwork.
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Placing a Renewal Via the Web
If your patron would like to have an item for a longer period of time, placing a renewal online can
easily be done by following these steps.
1. Go to CMLE’s website (www.cmle.org).
2. In the gray box to the right, click Your Borrowing Record.
Click on Your Borrowing Record.
Patron’s name goes here.
John Doe
John Doe
Do not put patron’s
name here

6. 3. You will be prompted for your barcode and password. (If you need these, contact CMLE
at cmle@stcloudstate.edu or 320-308-2950.)
4. You should now successfully be in your borrowing record.
5. Click the number next to the word loans
6. Check the item(s) that you would like to renew.
7. Press Renew All or Renew Selected in the blue ribbon.
8. Once that is done, check your borrowing account periodically to see if your item has been
renewed. (Renewals do not take place right away.) It is the lending library’s (not CMLE)
responsibility to determine whether an item can be renewed. It’s your responsibility to
check the status of a renewal request. If the status is Renewal – Accepted, the due date will
have changed. If the status is Renewal – Rejected, please return the item on its due date.
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Click the number not the word.
Check the one you want to renew.
Click Renew Selected or Renew All.
Put barcode here.
Put password here.
Click Log On.

7. Checking an Items Renewal Status
This must be done periodically to see if the renewal has been accepted or rejected.
1. Repeat steps 1-4 of Placing a Renewal via the Web.
2. Click the number beside the word ILL Active Requests.
3. The next page will show you all of the ILL items you have out and what their statuses are.
Remember if the status is Renewal – Accepted, the due date will have changed. If the
status is Renewal – Rejected, please return the item on its due date.
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Overdue Items
Our lending libraries have renewed energy and vigor in focusing on overdues and keeping their
collections intact during these tight economic times. The short, but strident message we are getting
from our lending libraries is this:
We are happy to lend materials, but want our materials back when they are due. Renewals can be
requested, but please understand that they cannot always be granted. If your renewal requests are
rejected, the lending library wants the item back. Period. If you fail to do so, CMLE is being
billed.
This is not good. It is expensive and very staff intensive for both the lending libraries and for
CMLE. But let’s not forget, this is how libraries work, and we are indeed lucky to have this ILL
service available in our region (we are the last multitype offering this service). Part of our success
is staying on good terms with our lending libraries. We appreciate your cooperation in paying
attention to your due dates, and getting materials back to our office on a timely basis.
*When an item becomes overdue, CMLE will notify you via email. Please get the item back as
soon as possible. If we receive a bill, CMLE will inform you that a bill has been received. To
renew an item, see Placing a Renewal via the Web.
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Click the number not the words.

8. I Want to Cancel this Request
Just like renewing an item, you can also cancel a request online. Follow these simple steps to
cancel requests:
1. Go to CMLE’s website (www.cmle.org).
2. In the gray box to the right, click Your Borrowing Record.
3. You will be prompted for your barcode and password. (If you need these, contact CMLE
at cmle@stcloudstate.edu or 320-308-2950.)
4. You should now successfully be in your borrowing record.
5. Next, click on the number next to the phrase “ILL Active Requests.”
6. Click the number next to the request you would like to cancel.
Click on Your Borrowing Record.
Put barcode here.
Put password here.
Click Log On.
Click the number not the phrase.
Choose the number
next to the request.

9. 7. Once you choose the request you want to cancel, the request information will appear.
Below the information you can either choose to cancel the request or go back. Choose
Cancel Request.
8. Above the request information, it will say Cancel succeeded if all has gone well.
Press cancel request.
You cancelled a request!

10. 9. To return back to you account, press Your Borrowing Record at the top of the page.
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Cancelled vs. Unfilled
Have you ever wondered why you don’t always get requests that you have requested? There are
two statuses that show up on your borrowing record to indicate that we are unable to get the item
you requested. The statuses are cancelled and unfilled.
A book becomes cancelled when the request cannot be found in the four-state Minitex region.
CMLE’s Lead ILL Assistant goes through each book request to see if we can get it within one of
the four states. If no library in the region has the item, it becomes cancelled.
If you request a media item, make sure to look on the Great River Regional Library (GRRL)
Website to see if it is available there. We will cancel the media request if it is not available at
GRRL.
When articles are requested, our staff looks first to see St. Cloud State University carries the
journal (either hardcopy or electronically). If not, she moves to WorldCat. On occasion,
WorldCat has accessible websites where CMLE can get a PDF. If she cannot find a PDF version
of the article, she will then check to see if any library in the Minitex region carries the journal
article. If all fails, she will then cancel the request.
Now, unfilled requests… If the item is a book and it went unfilled, typically that means that no
library in four states had it at the moment. (Some libraries could have it, but it may be checked
out, on hold, or even on order at the time of the request). Book requests can easily be resubmitted,
but it will take extra time to get the item.
When the requested item is an article, it is likely that all states in the Minitex region were unable
to fill it, because none may have it. There are times, however, that the article may be in a bound
journal (typically two years or older) or on microfiche/film and it may be checked out at a library
that has it.
CMLE will send you an email when an item becomes cancelled. We will send you a half sheet of
paper called Notification of CMLE Interlibrary Loan Action if the item is unfilled.
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Press “Your Borrowing Record”
to return to you account.