Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary Loan is a service that expands the reach of the library by enabling users to borrow materials from over 6,700 libraries throughout the United States and Canada. The library is connected electronically to the collections of these libraries and our library is able to the send the requests of our users to the locations owning material that are most likely to respond expeditiously and without charges.

• The use of Interlibrary Loan is a privilege, not the right of every cardholder.
• The NWACC Library adheres to the processes of OCLC and the ALA Interlibrary Loan Code to provide this service.

Who can borrow

• Interlibrary loan borrowing privileges are offered to current NWACC students, faculty, and staff.

What can we borrow

• ILL is available for books, articles, and DVDs. The ILL staff will try to borrow any materials that patrons deem necessary to their research. Please be aware that some materials are extremely difficult to borrow. This includes videos, audio tapes, reference books, maps, and books published prior to 1900, and dissertations.

Cost to borrow

• There is usually no charge for ILL. In the rare event that the lending library requires a fee, the borrower will be notified beforehand and asked whether they wish to pay the fee and proceed with the transaction.

Borrowing procedure

• Request books and articles through the online Interlibrary Loan Request Form (see link below). Most request are usually filled within three business days. These include very popular books and DVDs. Other rare or hard to find items outside our collection will usually take longer to find or borrow. We will notify you by email when the item is available.
• Recently published or highly popular materials may not be readily available through ILL. Please consider suggesting these items for purchase before you submit a request (see link below). The library will consider all suggestions made to the library; however, the library staff will make the final decision for materials purchased with library funds.

Interlibrary Loan request form

• Citations should be as complete as possible and abbreviations should be avoided. Request should be filled out as completely as possible. When requesting books, it is important to supply the author, title, edition, publisher, place, date of publication and the series (if known). When requesting journal articles it is essential to supply the title of the periodical, volume number, issue number, year, author of the article, title of the article, and the pages on which the article appears.

Receipt of materials

• For easy-to-locate titles, it will normally take between seven to fourteen days for your materials to arrive at the library. For more difficult titles, it may take longer, especially if materials are requested from public or specialized libraries. Patrons will be notified by email when their requests have arrived. Materials are picked up at the circulation desk. Scanned materials are delivered electronically to your email address.

Patron responsibilities

• It is the patron’s responsibility to check with library staff as to the status of their interlibrary loan request. When the library receives the requested item, library staff will notify the patron by phone or email.
• We will hold an item for seven (7) business days. If the patron does not pick up the item within this period, the item will be returned to the lending library. The patron is responsible for all interlibrary loan items checked out. Please be aware that each Interlibrary Loan cost the library in staff processing time, computer time, postage, and lending fees. Please use the privilege wisely and only for materials you actually intend to use.

Duration of loans

• The loan period is determined by the lending institution and is usually two to three weeks. Renewals of loans are sometimes allowed, and may be requested by notifying library staff. Renewals are the discretion of the lending library. Loans must be returned promptly. Failure to return materials on time jeopardizes our good standing with other institutions. Thus making it difficult for our library to borrow because most libraries suspend services because of overdue materials. When a book is overdue, the patron will receive an overdue email notice. If a book is overdue by seven days or more, access to the request forms will be blocked until the overdue material is returned. Failure to return books promptly will result in suspension of interlibrary loan privileges including, but not limited to, the ability to use ILL items outside the NWACC Library.

Return of interlibrary loan materials

• ILL materials should be returned to the NWACC Library Circulation desk. Do not put them in the outside book drop. It is extremely important that the ILL book band or label with the barcode is kept on the material at all times.

Damaged or lost materials charges

• Patrons are responsible for paying for the cost of any material that is lost. This price is set by the borrowing library, not NWACC library.
• Materials returned to the library are checked immediately for damage. If any library item is returned damaged in any way, the staff reserves the right to charge the patron for the replacement of the item.
• Damage is considered to be any wear and tear on library materials that will make the item less enjoyable for other patrons to use. Examples include water damage, pencil marks, and missing or torn pages.

Textbooks

• Textbooks may not be borrowed. Requests for textbooks (and solution manuals, study guides, kits, copies from textbooks, etc.) will be returned unfilled.

Copyright Restrictions

• The copyright law of the United States governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Photocopies or other reproductions can be furnished only under certain conditions, if they will be used for private study, scholarship, or research. Use of the reproduction for other purposes may make the user liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the request would involve violation of the copyright law. Interlibrary Loan is a member of the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), and is able to arrange for payment of copyright fees under certain circumstances.