Submitting Interlibrary Loan Requests
Time to Fill Requests
- It is impossible to predict how long it will take to receive an interlibrary loan request. The time required to fill the request depends on several factors, including the accuracy and completeness of the request, the difficulty in locating the requested item, the willingness and efficiency of the lending library to supply the item, and, since some material is sent by mail, the U.S. Postal Service.
- Expect a wait of 1-2 weeks, and plan your research accordingly.
Notification
- Article or chapter PDFs will arrive to you via email with instructions for access. (Articles do not need to be returned.)
- Books and other non-photocopy material can be picked up at the Circulation Desk.
- Users will be notified via email when a requested item is ready for pickup or if there are any problems in filling a request.
- Any item not picked up in a reasonable amount of time will be returned to the lending library.
Loan Period
- The loan period for books and non-photocopy material is determined solely by the lending institution.
- Renewals can be quickly requested by accessing your library account and clicking the "Requests" tab. Scroll to locate the ILL title you'd like to renew and send the request.
- The lending library will then either grant or deny the renewal request. This permission is granted solely by the lending library and cannot be guaranteed.
- Institutions that loan materials, including Centre College, reserve the right to recall items at any time for their own users.
Returning Borrowed Material
Books and other non-photocopied material may be returned to the Circulation Desk. Items may also be deposited in the Crounse lobby book drop if the library is closed.
Interlibrary Loan Fines
- Interlibrary loan is a service that is granted to Centre College faculty, staff, and students by the lending library. Abuse of that privilege by library users jeopardizes the lending institution's willingness to fill future requests.
- Non-photocopied material must be returned, or a renewal requested, on or before the item's due date.
- A fine of $1.00 per day per item will be charged if the material is not returned by the due date circled on the book's ILL slip.
- Items that have been recalled by the lending library must also be promptly returned. If not, a fine of $1.00 per day per item will be charged.
- These fines are applicable to faculty, staff, and students. All fines must be paid before any additional interlibrary loans may be requested.
Items Not Available Through Interlibrary Loan
Some materials which may not be available through Interlibrary Loan include:
- Newly published books
- Entire volumes or issues of periodicals; normally only specific articles may be requested
- Reference books
- Rare or fragile materials
- Recordings, videos, and other audio-visual material
- Requests which may violate copyright limitations
- Material(s) required for a course
- The Grace Doherty Library does not promote the borrowing or lending of textbooks or materials required for courses.
- In the publishing industry, textbooks are considered "consumable" items. Consequently, borrowing textbooks through Interlibrary Loan may be viewed as a violation of the "fair use" doctrine as specified in the 1976 U.S. Copyright Act.
- The Grace Doherty Library reserves the right to reject an ILL borrowing request if it is determined that the requested item is required for a class.
Dissertations
- Dissertations are frequently held only by the institution that awarded the degree.
- Some, but not all, libraries will loan dissertations, and often there are charges for these requests.
- There is no certainty that a request for a dissertation can be filled.
- The interlibrary loan staff can usually determine the lending policy of the institution at which the dissertation is held and the costs involved in obtaining it.
