College Libraries

Interlibrary Loan Policies

Contacting

For questions about the status of your Interlibrary Loan requests, renewing InterLibrary Loan items, or re-setting your ILLiad passwords, please contact the Interlibrary Loan Office at 315-267-2489.

For assistance with ILL policies, creating an ILLiad account, submitting Interlibrary Loan requests, or locating ERIC resources, ask for assistance at the Research Help Desk.

About

If you need a book or an article not in Crumb or Crane Libraries, we will try to get it for you through our InterLibrary Loan Service. As defined by the Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States, "Interlibrary loan is the process by which a library requests material from, or supplies material to, another library. The purpose of interlibrary loan as defined by this code is to obtain, upon request of a library user, material not available in the user's local library." The College Libraries comply with the Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States and Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States Explanatory Supplement 2008 in compiling our processes and policies.

Who can use the Service

The services are open to all current SUNY Potsdam students, faculty, faculty emeriti and staff. We ask that those affiliated with other local educational institutions submit their requests through their own libraries. Librarians will support area residents with research needs; please ask for assistance at the Research Help Desk.

Matierals for Which ILL is Appropriate

ILL will attempt to borrow, on your behalf,

• Material not owned by the College Libraries
• Materials owned by tbe College Libraries, but currently unavailable (e.g. lost or in circulation)

ILL will not attempt to borrow

• Materials that are available in the College Libraries
• Whole volumes or issues of journals
• Unpublished materials (e.g. conference papers)
• ERIC Documents with accession numbers beginning with ED.

Charges

Faculty and Staff

The College Libraries subsidizes all loan and article costs

Students

The College Libraries subsidizes all journal article costs. Students are expected to pay for loans (books, scores, DVDs, etc) when other libraries charge for the loan.

Public Borrowers

Are expected to pay for articles and loans when other libraries charge.

If you authorize the cost to borrow an item, it may not be possible to cancel the request once it has been processed. You are responsible for paying the authorized costs, even if the item is no longer wanted. If you fail to pay for an ILL you have requested and authorized, your College Library borrowing privileges will be suspended and a hold will be placed on your College account.

Due Dates and Renewals

• Articles and book chapters copied or scanned for your ILL use are yours to keep.
• The library which lends us a book specifies the loan period for that book. Due dates may vary from a few days to about a month, and are noted on the slip wrapped around the book.
• Some borrowed materials such as microfilm, DVDs, LPs, rare books, and archival materials may be limited to in-house use only.
• Renewals are sometimes possible, at the discretion of the lending library.
• Libraries may recall their lent materials. Items recalled by the lending library are due upon receipt of a recall notice.
• Overdue notices are sent if materials are not returned by their due dates.
• Overdue notices are sent weekly, and a late fee of $10 is charged upon the 3rd overdue notice sent.
• Library users are responsible for any charges and replacement costs assessed by the lending library in addition to College Libraries' fees.
• Users with fees on their Library Account, including ILL fees, will be blocked from using library services (except reserve and in-house-use materials, excluding laptops) until the fees are paid and the block is removed.
• SUNY Potsdam students with outstanding fees will have a hold filed against their records with the Office of Student Accounts.
• Users are financially responsible for Interlibrary Loan material from the time it is picked up at the Circulation Desk in Crumb Library until the time it is returned to the Circulation Desk. If material is lost or damaged, you will be charged a replacement and processing fee.

Delivery of Items

Books and other physical items are loaned from the Crumb Circulation Desk. A valid borrowing card is required in order to pick up ILL items.  

If you selected “electronic delivery” and the lending library sent the article electronically, the article will be available as a .pdf file in ILLiad. PDF documents can be downloaded from the   ILLiad server for 30 days, after which they are automatically deleted   from the server and your account.

Photocopied articles sent to us by the lending library may be picked up at the Circulation Desk in Crumb Library, or, for faculty, will be   sent in campus mail.

ILL and Copyright

The limitations copyright law places on how materials obtained through Interlibrary Loan may be used are described in the document Copyright Guidelines: Interlibrary Loan. Submission of an official Interlibrary Loan request indicates the requester's recognition of and agreement to comply with copyright laws and guidelines governing duplication of materials for interlibrary loan.

Reserves

• Articles and book chapters obtained through ILL may not be put on Reserve.
• Faculty may put books or other items on reserve, but our ability to borrow materials for an appropriate length of time is dependent on the lending library's policies. Faculty placing such requests should add a borrowing note to their ILL request: "Request permission to place on library reserves for nn weeks".
• Faculty who request ILL materials for reserve should plan on having the item on reserve for 3 weeks or less.

Limitations on Requests

• Patrons are limited to 15 active requests. Students involved in intensive research projects needing additional ILL support may apply to ILL staff to have their limits increased.
• Patron requests must include a "needed by date." If we cannot supply by the stated "needed by" date, the request will be canceled.
• As a general rule, we do not accept requests for materials owned by the College Libraries unless we determine that they are lost or in circulation to other users.
• We try to fill all requests, but all loans are dependent on the willingness of other libraries to supply the materials and we cannot guarantee that all requests will be filled.
• When a free electronic version of a requested item is available, patrons will be directed to that resource.
• Requests for materials will be canceled after a reasonable attempt to obtain them from our lending partners.
• Special needs will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I submit a request?

• First-time users must create an account in ILLiad.
• ILLiad provides online forms you can fill out to request books, articles, and other materials.
• ArticleLinker results in databases often provide an ILL option. Click through, and ArticleLinker will send the citation information to ILLiad, where you can place the request.
• Before making a request, carefully check our catalog (for books) or ArticleLinker (for periodicals) to make sure we don't already have the item you are requesting, or other items that can fill your need.
• Users are strongly encouraged to seek assistance at the Research Help Desk when choosing to use Interlibrary Loan services.

How long does it take?

Delivery time varies. Your requested material may be here in a few days, but a week to 10 days is an average waiting period. Requests for popular and rare items often take much longer. Because it can take considerable time, Interlibrary Loan is not a good choice for research projects due in a few days.

How will I know when my book or article has arrived?

ILLiad sends regular email updates on the progress of your request, including delivery notices, so it is important that you provide a correct email address when you register with ILLiad. You may also login and check the status of your ILL requests at any time. ILL staff will contact you with any questions or special information as your requests are processed.

How much does it cost?

Although we don't often charge users, Interlibrary Loan is not free. There is always staff time involved in processing each request, and some libraries charge us to borrow a book or send us a copy of an article. We frequently have to pay shipping costs for loans, and copyright fees for articles and book chapters. The average cost for each completed interlibrary loan transaction in the United States is about $30.00 per request. Users are encouraged to use the service judiciously to avoid unnecessary expense for the College Libraries. Specific user charges include:

• Faculty and staff: The College Libraries subsidizes all loan and article costs. No charges assessed.
• Students: The College Libraries subsidizes all journal article costs. Students are expected to pay for loans (books, scores, DVDs, etc) when other libraries charge for the loan.
• Public borrowers are expected to pay for all articles and loans when other libraries charge.

If it will cost you to borrow an item, the ILL office will contact you before processing the request. When the item is received, you will be notified by email to pick the item up in the ILL office (not the Crumb Circulation Desk). You will be expected to pay at that time. Please bring your check made out to SUNY Potsdam. We do not accept credit cards or BearExpress. Cash may be accepted with advance notice.

If you authorize the cost to borrow an item, it may not be possible to cancel the request once it has been processed. Contact the ILL office directly, if you no longer need the item. Do not cancel such requests through your ILLiad account. ILL staff may be able to contact the lending library and cancel the request for you. You are responsible for paying the costs, even if the item is no longer wanted. If you fail to pay for an ILL you have requested and authorized, your College Library borrowing privileges will be suspended and a hold will be placed on your College account.

How do I renew an item?

You may request a renewal through ILLiad. If the lending library does not grant the renewal, the material must be returned by its original due date, so all renewals must be requested before that due date occurs. If you have questions about renewals, please ask the ILL staff.

Why didn't I get the item I requested?

The email notice you received from ILLiad should have included information about why you did not receive the item, but some common reasons include:

• Patron requests must include a "needed by date." If we cannot supply by the stated "needed by" date, the request will be canceled.
• As a general rule, we do not accept requests for materials owned by the College Libraries unless we determine that they are lost or in circulation to other users.
• When a free electronic version of a requested item is available, patrons will be directed to that resource.
• Requests for materials will be canceled after a reasonable attempt to obtain them from our lending partners.
• Occasionally we are unable to locate a partner library that owns or is willing to lend us the material. The following types of materials are often unavailable from our lending sources: Best-sellers, popular fiction, genealogical materials, rare books, reference books, textbooks and workbooks, recently published books, entire issues or volumes of journals, entire seasons of television series, conference papers, multivolume sets (e.g. entire encyclopedias).

I didn't get the item I requested/I still need the item I had to return, and I want to try again. Can I?

Yes. You may request to ILL the same item as often as you like, however, in general, we prefer to only borrow an item once, because ILL is not cost-efficient for repeat uses. For example, if we spend an average of $30 to borrow an item, and buying it would cost $50, it would be more cost-effective to purchase the item for the Libraries' collection if it will be needed multiple times. Your input can help us with this—to request a purchase, please use our Purchase Recommendation Form.

I don't want to use Interlibrary Loan, but the College Libraries don't have what I need. Are there alternatives to Interlibrary Loan?

Students at Potsdam have borrowing privileges at Clarkson, St. Lawrence University, SUNY Canton, the Potsdam Public Library and at all other SUNY colleges. It may be faster to go directly to these libraries yourself. The catalogs of most local libraries are available through the internet. Ask at the Research Help Desk about checking other library catalogs.