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Mary and Jeff Bell Library -- InterLibrary Loan (ILL) Policies

InterLibrary Loan (ILL) Policies

Introduction
Interlibrary Loan is a service offered to current Texas A&M-Corpus Christi faculty, staff, and students. Since no library can possibly acquire all works published, the purpose of ILL is to obtain requested materials from other libraries. The conditions of this service are set by the Interlibrary Loan Code of the American Library Association and by the policies of individual lending libraries.

The Library uses ILLiad software to process InterLibrary Loan. This requires that all ILL requests be initiated online at http://rattler.tamucc.edu/illiad/ill.html. First-time users must set up an account at https://illiad.tamucc.edu/firsttime.html. Setting up the account takes a few minutes but allows ILL staff to process requests and deliver items to patrons more quickly.

Remote Access to InterLibrary Loan Request Form(ILLiad)

We are now requiring patron authentication for accessing the InterLibrary Loan, or Illiad, request form from a remote location (off-campus). Students, faculty and staff will be asked to enter their name and social security number before they can access the Illiad website. The name is to be entered as it appears on university records and the social security number should be entered with the hyphens.

Check http://portal.tamucc.edu/patroninfo for the name on record. Once the initial authentication is done, patrons will then log into Illiad using the same Illiad username and password used in the past. Patrons may also set up a new account by clicking on "First Time Users." If you have problems with the authentication please feel free to contact the InterLibrary Loan office of the Bell Library at ext. 6557.

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Materials Requested
The following materials can be requested through ILL:
  • Books
  • Magazine and journal articles
  • Government documents
  • Conference proceedings and transactions
  • Theses, Dissertations, and microform (copies only)
  • Newspapers and newsletters
  • Audiovisual materials
  • Public documents

    Textbooks in general may not be borrowed on Interlibrary Loan. They are in use or on reserve at lending libraries and therfore very hard to obtain. They only circulate for short time periods and are subject to recall. Users can NOT rely on these loans for their required reading. Questions regarding textbook reserve materials can be answered at the Circulation Desk.

    Dissertations, theses, and material on microform are available only at the discretion of the lending library. Requests for these materials may be denied. Rare books, reference books, archival materials, and audiovisual materials are usually not lent out. The ILL Department will attempt to obtain materials located outside the United States for our patrons.

    Please Note: Circulating materials and articles from periodicals owned by the Bell Library may not be requested through ILL with the exception of checked out, lost or missing items and requests for articles that contain graphics or tables which are not available from our electronic resources. Materials only available in non-circulating collections (i.e., Special Collections & Archives) can be requested from another library. If you need help deciding if an item is not available from Bell Library, please ask for assistance from the Reference Desk.

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    Number of requests allowed
    An unlimited number of requests can be submitted at one time. However, during times of heavy department workload (from midterm to finals), not all requests will be processed on the same day. Also, requests that exceed copyright restrictions may not be filled. Please see the next section on "Copyright and ILL" for more information.

    Copyright and ILL
    The Copyright Act requires that during one calendar year only 5 articles from any one journal and only one article from a single journal issue be provided to a requesting library without payment of copyright royalty fees. Requests for articles that would require payment of copyright fees by the library are considered on a case by case basis. If you cannot request any additional articles because of copyright limitations, please contact the Access Services Supervisor, Daniel Cayce, 825-5906, so other options can be explored.

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    Arrival of materials
    Articles usually arrive in 2 to 3 working days and books may take 5 working days or longer. Articles from libraries within the Coastal Bend Health Information Network, a network of hospital libraries, can be obtained within 24 hours. It is important that requests be submitted well in advance of the date they are needed. Patrons can check the status of their request by logging into ILLiad and clicking the button for "View/Modify Outstanding Requests", then click the "View/Edit" button on the left side of the request. This will provide detailed information on the status of the request.

    Patrons must pick up electronically delivered items from the library's server within 30 days after the notification is sent. Otherwise, the request will need to be re-submitted.

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    Patron Notification
    When materials arrive, patrons are notified by email or telephone depending on their preference as set up in their ILLiad account. If electronic delivery is preferred and possible, an email notification will automatically be sent when the material is ready to be accessed from the Interlibrary Loan Department's web server.

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    Patron Responsibility
    Copies of articles and other types of materials are retained by the patron. Books must be returned by the date set by the lending library. Materials should be returned directly to the Circulation Desk. DO NOT PLACE ILL MATERIALS IN THE OUTSIDE BOOK DROP, or the book drop at the circulation desk. Please return materials with the identifying ILL label. Renewals are granted at the discretion of the lending library. If a renewal is necessary, it must be requested at least three days prior to the due date. All loaned items are subject to immediate recall by the Lending library. Patrons are financially responsible for books that are not returned, lost, or damaged.

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    Loan period for borrowed materials
    Materials borrowed from other libraries through ILL are usually lent for a period of 4 weeks but may be less depending on the policies of the lending library. The patron is responsible for the timely return of the materials or borrowing privileges may be blocked.

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    Late return of materials
    The lending of another library's materials to A&M-CC patrons is a courtesy extended to the Bell Library. Abuse of the service by returning materials late may result in the suspension of checkout and/or ILL privileges.

    Webpage revised on 08/09/2007

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