Q. Are there kinds of materials I should think twice about requesting through interlibrary loan?

In some cases, it is simply not possible to locate a library that is willing or able to lend the book or article you have requested.  This is especially true of masters' theses, doctoral dissertations, video's, CD's, DVD's, highly specialized journals, and materials published in languages other than English. 

Theses and dissertations, for example, are usually owned only by the sponsoring university, and many institutions will not lend these difficult-to-replace titles.  Even when available, they are often more expensive to retrieve.  Moreover, their content is usually more suitable to advanced work in a discipline.  Therefore, we recommend their use primarily to faculty, graduate students, professional staff, and Senior Thesis researchers under the guidance of their faculty advisors.