I'd push back if a public library refused to do ILL. (Though I can be fairly stubborn.) If cost is a concern, offer to pay. If a librarian says that they don't

I'd push back if a public library refused to do ILL. (Though I can be fairly stubborn.) If cost is a concern, offer to pay. If a librarian says that they don't offer that service due to low demand, ask if they could make an exception. Maybe ask another librarian who might be more open to the idea. I don't know what to do about a lack of trust. Lacking the right software is not a valid excuse. UT will send "ALA requests" every once in a while if the lending library isn't in their software. As far as I can tell an ALA request is just this form mailed or emailed: http://www.ala.org/rusa/sites/ala.org.rusa/files/content/sections/stars/resources/ALA_ILL_Request_Form.pdf http://www.ala.org/rusa/sites/ala.org.rusa/files/content/sec... I might suggest contacting various universities about getting copies of theses from them. It's possible that they'd be perfectly willing to scan them for you, even for free. On this note, I've been surprised by the extent some corporations have gone to provide me with copies of proprietary technical reports they produced. One time I called the number on the website of a large corporation and my call was forwarded to their staff librarian, as I recall. A few weeks later I got the requested report. It had to go through some release process, but they were happy to share their work. Another time I emailed a generic address at a Shell research lab, and a few weeks later I got a copy of the report I wanted. There have been failures as well, but I was surprised by how frequent the successes were.