Interlibrary Loan - Frequently Asked Questions

Mission statement:

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The mission of the Interlibrary Loan Department is to support the research and teaching needs of the University at Albany academic community, by expanding the range of materials available for scholarship beyond the physical and electronic collections of the University Libraries. The department provides article delivery and short term loans from a vast network of libraries and document suppliers on a local, statewide, national, and international basis.

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Question: Who is eligible for Interlibrary Loan services?

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Answer:

The Interlibrary Loan Department provides service for the University at Albany academic community. This includes:

• Currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students
• Faculty
• Staff
• Emeritus faculty

Courtesy borrowing privileges, alumni borrowing privileges, and Empire State College borrowing agreements do not include interlibrary loan privileges. Individuals from other academic institutions, including SUNY institutions, must use the interlibrary loan services of their institution’s library. If you are an area researcher not affiliated with any institution, we recommend you contact one of the following public libraries:

• Albany Public Library
• Bethlehem Public Library
• Colonie Public Library
• East Greenbush Community Library
• Guilderland Public Library
• Saragota Springs Public Library
• Schenectady County Public Library
• Voorheesville Public Library

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Question: What can I get through Interlibrary Loan?

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Answer:

Any materials (excluding assigned textbooks) needed for research or other academic purposes that are not currently available in the University Libraries can be requested through Interlibrary Loan. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Books & book chapters
• Journal articles
• Published conference proceedings
• Dissertations
• Audio/Visual materials (DVDs, CDs, etc.)
• CD-ROMs
• Newspapers on microfilm
• Archival material on microfilm

Assigned textbooks cannot be obtained through Interlibrary Loan.

Due to the increasing costs of resource sharing, Interlibrary Loan staff may need to contact you about orders which are expensive and suggest alternatives.

Note: Copyright law prohibits us from requesting multiple chapters from the same book. If you need more than one chapter from a book, please request the entire book.

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Question: Is there a charge for Interlibrary Loan?

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Answer:

In general there is no cost to the user for Interlibrary Loan orders. The service is subsidized by the University Libraries. There is one exception:

• If the only way to fill a request is to purchase a microfilm or a photocopy of an out-of-print work, the user will be contacted, and if he/she wants to continue with the order, the purchase price will be billed to the user.

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Question: Is there a limit to the number of items I can request through Interlibrary Loan?

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Answer:

Faculty, staff, and graduate students: There is no limit to the number of Interlibrary Loan requests that can be submitted. However, if you plan on submitting more than 50 loan requests (i.e. books, A/V, etc.) during a single semester, please contact the Interlibrary Loan Department before submitting your requests.

Undergraduate students: Undergraduate students are limited to 25 active requests at a time.

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Question: How long does it take to obtain materials through Interlibrary Loan?

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Answer:

The amount of time it takes to fill an Interlibrary Loan request depends on the type of material being requested and where the material must be obtained from, so the amount of time needed to fill a request can vary. Please allow two weeks for loan requests (i.e. books, A/V, etc.) and one week for journal article and book chapter requests.

The Interlibrary Loan Department makes every effort to obtain all materials requested. However, experience tells us that materials that fall into certain categories are more challenging to borrow, and the success rate for obtaining these types of materials tends to be a little lower. In general, items from these categories are more difficult to obtain:

• Audio/Visual materials (DVDs, CDs, etc.)
• CD-ROMs
• Books published within the past year
• Books published prior to 1900
• Materials only available from international libraries
• Items that are typically non-circulating (reference books, rare books, etc.)

A request for something from one of these categories may take more time than average to fill, or be filled with restrictions, such as shorter loan period, a "no photocopying" restriction, or a "library use only" restriction.

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Question: How can I check the status of my request?

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Answer:

To check the status of your Interlibrary Loan requests, you can log in to ILLiad and look at your list of outstanding requests. The list appears on the main ILLiad page and can also be seen by clicking on the “Check Outstanding Orders” link. This list will show the current status of your request. The following list explains the most common ILLiad request statuses.

Note: Interlibrary Loan requests are not processed on Saturdays or Sundays. All timeframes stated below should read “...except on weekends.”

Awaiting Copyright Clearance: Your article/book chapter request is awaiting copyright processing to determine if any copyright fees need to be paid. These fees, if required, are paid by the library. Your request will be cleared for copyright either the day it is submitted or early the following day.

Awaiting Conditional Processing: Your request has been sent to potential lending libraries, but the library that is currently processing your request has a question about the request. Questions from potential lending libraries are generally answered within 24 hours.

Awaiting Customer Contact: Your requested item has arrived and has been processed by staff, but your notification email has not yet been sent. Notification emails are generally sent out within a few hours.

Awaiting Doc Provider Processing: Your UA Delivery request could not be filled and has been forwarded to the Interlibrary Loan Department, but it has yet to be processed. Your request will generally be processed within 24 hours.

Awaiting Extensive Searching: Interlibrary Loan staff are having difficulties locating the item you requested. Your request is being held for further searching.

Awaiting Post Receipt Processing: Your item has arrived, but it has not yet been processed by Interlibrary Loan staff. Your item will be processed by the end of the business day.

Awaiting Request Processing: Your request has been received and has gone through the copyright clearance process (if necessary), but it has not yet been processed by the Interlibrary Loan Department. Requests are almost always processed within 24 hours.

Awaiting Unfilled Processing: Your request has been sent to potential lending libraries, but none of the libraries Interlibrary Loan staff sent the request to were able to fill your request. Your request will generally be sent to an additional group of libraries within 24 hours, or if necessary, held for processing at a later date.

Cancelled By ILL Staff: This request has been cancelled by the Interlibrary Loan Department. The reason for this cancellation may be found in the cancellation email you received or from your ILLiad Main Menu selection "View or Resubmit Cancelled Requests."

Checked In Circ: You have returned this item, and Interlibrary Loan staff are in the process of returning the item to the lending library.

Checked Out to Customer: The requested item has arrived, has been processed by the staff, and has been checked out to you. Until the item's status is changed to "Checked In Circ", you are responsible for the item.

Customer Notified via E-Mail: The item you requested has been received and processed by Interlibrary Loan staff. If your designated pick-up library is the University Library, you should have already received your email notification. If your designated pick-up library is the Science Library or the Dewey Library, your email notification will be delayed 24 hours to allow time for your item to be shipped from the University Library to your designated pick-up library.

Delivered to Web: The article/book chapter you requested has arrived, has been processed by the staff, and has been posted to your ILLiad account as a PDF document. You may view or downloaded the item using by logging in to ILLiad and clicking on the “Electronic Delivery Pick-up” link.

Request Finished: We've completed the entire request process successfully. Requests with this status are archived under the "View Histories of Finished Requests" selection on you ILLiad Main Menu.

Request Held Until...: Your request cannot be processed at this time and is being held for processing at a later date.

Request Sent : Your request has been sent to potential lending libraries for processing, but we have yet to receive the item you requested. Please allow one week for article/book chapter requests and two weeks for book/AV/microform requests.

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Question: How will I know when my Interlibrary Loan item has arrived?

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Answer:

If your designated pick-up library is the University Library, you will be notified once the item you requested has been received and processed by Interlibrary Loan staff. If your designated pick-up library is either the Science Library or the Dewey Library, you will receive an email notification 24 hours after the item you requested has been received and processed by Interlibrary Loan staff. The purpose of this delay is to allow time for your Interlibrary Loan item to be shipped from the Interlibrary Loan office to your designated pick-up library. If you will be making a trip to either the Science Library or the Dewey Library to pick up an Interlibrary loan item, we encourage you to call the Science or Dewey circulation desk to ensure that your item has arrived in a timely fashion. Phone numbers are listed below.

Science Library Circulation Desk: 437-3948

Dewey Library Circulation Desk: 442-3693

Question: Where can I pick up my Interlibrary Loan materials?

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Answer:

Loans (books, A/V, etc.): Borrowed materials can be delivered to any one of our three libraries on campus. In your ILLiad profile, you can designate which library you prefer to use for pick-up of Interlibrary Loan materials. Borrowed Interlibrary Loan materials cannot be sent to faculty offices. Distance education patrons can have borrowed materials mailed to their homes. For more information on distance education services, please contact Suzanne Turner at 518-442-3612 or sturner@uamail.albany.edu.

Note: If your designated pick-up location is “ILL” your item can be picked up at the University Library circulation desk.

Journal articles/book chapters: All article and book chapter requests are delivered electronically. To retrieve an article or book chapter, log in to ILLiad and click on the “Electronic Delivery Pick Up” link.

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Question: How long will I be able to keep my Interlibrary Loan materials? Can I renew my Interlibrary Loan materials?

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Answer:

Loan periods are set by the lending libraries and can thus vary. The average loan period is four weeks with one four week renewal.

Note: Interlibrary Loan items are subject to recall by the lending library, so due dates can change at any time.

Interlibrary loan items can be renewed at the discretion of the lending library unless the paperwork included with your item states “NO RENEWALS.” To submit a renewal request:

1. Log on to ILLiad.
2. Click on the “Renew Items” link. You will then see a list of all Interlibrary Loan items you currently have checked out.
3. Click on the transaction number of the item you would like to renew. You will then see a page containing the request information for that item.
4. Click the red “Renew Request” link.

Once your renewal request has been received, Interlibrary Loan staff will forward your renewal request to the lending library. Once the lending library has responded, you will receive an email containing your new due date. You may keep the item you are renewing until you receive that email, and there is no need to worry about your original due date.

Note: Renewal requests can be submitted online through ILLiad up until the day the item is due. Also, Interlibrary Loan items can be renewed online only once. To submit a renewal request for an item that has already been renewed once, please contact the Interlibrary Loan office at 442-3613 or libill@albany.edu.

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Question: What are the circulation return policies for Interlibrary Loan

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Answer:

Prompt return of interlibrary loan materials is expected, so that the Libraries can continue to maintain positive relationships with resource sharing partner libraries. Pick up and return borrowed materials to the Circulation desk of the University Library, the Dewey Library, or the Science Library. Do not use external book drops for returns.

Replacement charges will be imposed for grossly overdue, lost, or damaged items which have reached the billing stage. When items reach the billing stage, a processing fee of $10 per item is charged, even when the overdue items are returned. Failure to respond to overdue notices or to pay the fees will result in a block on the ILLiad record. This will result in the loss of Interlibrary Loan privileges until the matter is resolved, and services will be restored if the patron is in good standing with the University Libraries. Additionally, if the matter is not resolved, users will also be blocked from borrowing books owned by the University Libraries. Delinquent accounts will be forwarded to the Office of Student Accounts. Ultimately, failure to pay Interlibrary Loan replacement charges and processing fees may result in referral to a collection agency and/or to the NYS Attorney General’s office.

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