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What is interlibrary loan (ILL)?
An Interlibrary Loan (ILL) transaction is a request to borrow from another library system or institution, any books or other materials, which are not available to borrow in your library's catalog.
Anyone who has a valid SCLS public library card may use this service.
What kinds of materials can be borrowed through ILL?
ILL requests are accepted for most items that are not found in your library catalog, including books, magazine or newspaper articles, audio books, videos, music cassettes and CDs. However, many libraries do not lend audiovisual materials, so such items may not be obtainable through ILL. Items published within the last 6 months may not be requested.
What kinds of materials cannot normally be borrowed?
Libraries generally do not lend materials published within the last 6 months, non-circulating and reference materials, genealogical materials, newspapers in original format (newspapers may usually be borrowed on microfilm), whole issues of magazines, computer software and games, rare or valuable items, and items from special collections.
What if the item is recently published?
Items published within the last 6 months may not be requested. However, you may recommend that your local library purchase this title. You may request that the library reserve the item for you if it is purchased, or wait 6 months from the publication date to request it through interlibrary loan.
Are magazines available through ILL?
Although whole issues of magazines are available for checkout in your library's catalog most other libraries will not lend an entire issue of a magazine, but may provide photocopies of individual articles. Thus, when requesting a magazine not available in the library's catalog, please include article information. If a particular article is not desired, but a copy of the table of contents will suffice, please request that. In addition, many full-text magazine and journal articles are available in the Ebscohost databases. ProQuest contains many full-text newspaper articles.
There is no direct charge to the customer for interlibrary loan services. However, borrowers are responsible for overdue charges incurred or for any charges incurred for lost or damaged items.
How do I request materials through ILL?
If you have not found the title you need in your library's catalog, you may submit an ILL request at your local public library. Please provide as much information as possible to help identify the specific item that you are seeking, such as the title, author, publisher, etc. Many full-text magazine and journal articles can be found in EBSCOhost. Newspaper articles are available in ProQuest. If the article you want is not available in these databases, you may submit an ILL request for a copy of the article. When submitting a request, please include all of the citation information given in the source of your citation. Titles published within the last 6 months, with the exception of magazine/newspaper articles, may not be requested.
What if I need information on a particular subject but don't have an exact title?
Your local public library staff can help you find information on a particular subject.
What if I no longer need an item I requested?
Please call your local library staff.
How long will it take to receive my ILL request?
Delivery of ILL items can take from 2 - 6 weeks depending on the location of
the item, its availability at the lending library and the lending library's
response time.
Because the process is dependent upon responses from other institutions and
delivery systems, delivery time may vary greatly. Some materials, e.g. items
that are difficult to locate, may take considerably longer than average. Some
items may never become available for borrowing. Try to allow adequate lead-time
when making a request. If you have a specific deadline by which you need the
material, let the library know that when placing your request. Staff will try
to obtain the item by that date, or will cancel the request and notify you if
it cannot be obtained within that time. Also staff will notify you if the requested
title cannot be obtained.
To check on the status of your request you may call your local library. Please wait at least 2 weeks before inquiring about the status of your ILL request.
How will I know when my materials arrive?
Customers will be notified when the item is available for pickup. Customers will also be notified if we cannot obtain an item.
How long may I keep ILL items for use?
The loan period for all ILL materials is determined by the lending library,
generally from 1-4 weeks.
Some reference materials may be restricted to "Library use only" by
the lending library and may not be checked out for use at home.
What if I'm not finished with the
item by its due date?
Because most libraries already give extended loan periods for interlibrary loan materials, renewal requests are not encouraged. If needed, please contact your local library with requests for extended borrowing at least 2 days prior to the due date. However, sometimes the owning library does not allow renewals.
Why can't you get what I've requested?
Sometimes the item is in use. Sometimes the library will not lend it because it is a reference item and must be used in the library. Sometimes the library says "no" without giving a reason. Sometimes we cannot find a library that owns the requested title. Please remember that not every library that owns a particular item will lend it via interlibrary loan. Refer to "What kinds of materials cannot normally be borrowed?" for further information.
For more information about interlibrary loan, contact Cheryl Becker.
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Page created 05/02. |
South Central Library System 4610 South Biltmore Lane Madison, WI 53718 (608) 246-7970 |