Is there a limit on the number of ILLiad requests I can place?
Answer
Just as we do not limit the number full text articles a patron can access immediately through Rush's subscriptions, there is no limit on the number of ILLiad requests you can place in any given period of time.
However, ILLiad does impose a limit of 10 concurrent active requests. Because every interlibrary loan transaction requires manual processing, this rate-limiting measure is necessary to allow our staff to fill everyone's requests in a timely manner. ILLiad requests are considered complete as soon as the article is delivered--in other words, you can only ask the interlibrary loan staff to be actively working on borrowing ten articles at the same time. As soon as one of the ten articles is delivered, you can place another request.
Practically, it is extremely uncommon for interlibrary loan borrowers to reach the ten active request limit in the course of normal activities, but if you do have an extraordinary need, the limit can be temporarily lifted.
For example, if you were conducting a systematic review on a discipline not well-covered by Rush's subscriptions, and the project required a significant volume of requests to be placed in a short period of time, we could remove the limit for the duration of the review.