Date Issued: 12/07/2003
Date Revised: 12/14/2011, 02/20/2014
Attachment(s): None
Interlibrary Loan Request Form
1. Definitions
Interlibrary loan (ILL) is generally defined as the loaning of library material from one library to another. As applies specifically to the Mary Riley Styles Public Library (MRSPL), interlibrary loan constitutes either (a) the borrowing of material from another library by MRSPL for a MRSPL patron, or (b) the loaning of material owned by MRSPL to another library.
Item is defined as any material for which an individual ILL order slip must be submitted.
OCLC (officially known as the Online Computer Library Center, Inc.) is a worldwide, non-profit resource center which libraries use to locate and reserve interlibrary loan materials.
2. Policy
Borrowing Material from Another Library for a Mary Riley Styles Public Library Patron:
Because the Library’s collection is limited in size and scope, interlibrary loan (ILL) service is offered to patrons unable to find desired items in the library’s collection.
Patrons requesting the interlibrary loan service must be residents or employees of the City of Falls Church and must have a valid Mary Riley Styles Public Library card.
Patrons may have up to five (5) active requests at one time.
A postage fee (see the Fee Schedule in the Circulation of Library Materials Policy) is charged for each item received through interlibrary loan by a patron and requiring return by mail. A printing (see the Fee Schedule in the Circulation of Library Materials Policy) is charged for emailed items, like periodical articles, if the requesting patron requires a paper copy. Any additional fees (e.g. for processing, photocopying, or postage) charged to MRSPL by the library loaning the item must also be paid by the requesting patron. (Every effort, however, is made to borrow items free of charge. If additional charges prove unavoidable, the requesting patron is notified before any loan is formally initiated.)
Interlibrary loan requests may be submitted in person at the Reference Desk, by telephone (at the Reference or the ILL Desk), or by e-mail. Items already in the Library’s collection may not be requested through interlibrary loan, even if the item is non-circulating or currently checked out.
Items published within the last year, reference, and items on video, DVD, CD, or cassette are typically not loaned through interlibrary loan by most libraries and therefore may be difficult to obtain for Library patrons.
Circulation periods for interlibrary loan items are dictated by the lending library and may only be renewed with its approval. Fines (see the Fee Schedule in the Circulation of Library Materials Policy) are charged to patrons for each day an interlibrary loan item is overdue. Patrons may be held responsible for the entire replacement cost of a book if it is lost, or, in the opinion of the lending library, damaged beyond repair.
The Mary Riley Styles Public Library reserves the right to suspend or completely revoke interlibrary loan borrowing privileges of patrons who repeatedly return interlibrary loan items more than one week late or who lose or damage interlibrary loan items.
Loaning Material Owned by Mary Riley Styles Public Library to Another Library:
The Library does not charge other libraries wishing to borrow items from its collection. The following items, however, are not loaned if requested:
- DVDs, CDs, audiodiscs, and audiocassettes,
- Reference materials
- Microfilm/fiche
- Original issues of periodicals (including newspapers)
- Local History Room materials
- Books published within the last year
Up to 30 photocopied pages from periodicals or other non-loanable materials are provided free of charge upon request. A fee (see the Fee Schedule in the Circulation of Library Materials Policy) per page is charged for each photocopied page after the first 30.
Materials are loaned for three weeks and may be renewed for an additional three weeks if not reserved by another patron.
Interlibrary loan statistics are maintained by the Library as part of its annual report to the Library of Virginia.
