International Reference @ Illinois
International Reference @ Illinois is a project to provide additional help to
researchers interested in identifying and accessing foreign language materials. The project
is the result of a cooperative arrangement between the
Slavic Reference Service and
Global Studies Services and Collections, both units within the International and Area
Studies Library at the University Library. Scholars often find that they need
materials in languages other than English, but frequently they are unable to obtain these materials
either because they don't know where to look, or the transliteration of the title and/or author is
incorrect. In addition to working with the Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Department
of the University Library to provide materials, the IRI project will attempt to verify problem
citations in a number of languages.
Access to International Reference @ Illinois resources
Please select the guide of your choice below. You will find both bibliographies to help
identify materials, and a search form to help you access the materials you have identified if
necessary.
In addition to the following guides, the International and Area Studies Library and the Slavic
Reference Service provide
email
assistance and
chat reference.
Resources for Arabic materials -
Resources for Slavic, Eurasian and East European materials -
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Slavic Reference Service -The many links here include access
to general information about bibliographies, fonts and keyboards, search tools, and much more, in
addition to links to resources for the many countries and languages in the geographic region.
Resources for Persian materials -
Resources for Turkish materials -
What We Do
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Identify and lend materials in our collection. Identify libraries that hold
materials you need. We will search to find libraries in the U.S. and other countries that can
lend or copy the title you need if it is not in our collection.
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Correct citations. Oftentimes, titles are not fully or correctly cited in the
existing bibliographic literature. Our staff are trained to search for the correct form of
the citation, ensuring that you get the material you need.
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Order materials. In some cases if you need a specific title and it is not
held in the United States, we will try to order a copy of the material. When it is received,
we will notify you. You will then be able to borrow the material.
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Suggest reference materials you might find relevant for your work.
Unfortunately, we cannot be held responsible for the completeness or accuracy of Internet
information. We do not compile bibliographies on specific topics (see below).
What We Don't Do
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Charge a fee. The Slavic Reference Service is a federally funded agency as
is the Center for Global Studies which provides some support for this program. There is no
charge for our search services. However, we are not a document delivery service.
Should you need a copy of some material from our collection you will be directed to our
Interlibrary Loan Department for further information.
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Obtain certain kinds of materials, specifically archival materials and full text
of dissertations. Dissertation abstracts can be obtained.
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Recommend particular books on a topic. We are all reference librarians with
subject expertise in a variety of areas. None of us are experts in all areas. Our
expertise lies in our familiarity with bibliographic material. Therefore, we are not qualified to
suggest a specific book in a subject area over some other work.
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Supply detailed genealogical information. Our library is not equipped to
handle detailed genealogical requests. We will be happy to identify place names and try to
identify maps.