Interlibrary Loan Guidelines

Borrowing Books from Other Libraries

 

Introduction

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a lending service whereby books, articles, and other materials which are not a part of a library's collection may be borrowed from other libraries. The effective date of these Interlibrary Loan Guidelines and Procedures is November 22, 2017. 
 

Procedure

ILL service is available to BRPL cardholders with charges less than $10 on their account. ILL materials may be requested in three ways: (1) by visiting the Information Desk at either the Downtown Library or the Spanish River Library, (2) by contacting the Instructional Services Department by telephone, or (3) by completing the Interlibrary Loan Request Form located on the library's website (www.bocalibrary.org). 

A request for an ILL must include a complete bibliographic description of the item desired. The submission of an ILL request constitutes an agreement on the part of the patron to pay any overdue charges, to pay for any charges for lost or damaged materials, to pay any processing charges, and to pay for any ILL charges imposed by the lending library. If, after a reasonable effort, a requested item cannot be obtained, the patron will be notified that their request has been cancelled as unfilled. A patron may resubmit a request for an unfilled item after the passage of 90 days of the time of the original request. 

Types of Materials Available

BRPL patrons may borrow any materials from other Florida libraries which they approve and do not incur any additional handling or shipping costs. No item may be obtained through ILL if such item is in the BRPL's collections, regardless of whether the item is checked out or is a part of the non-circulating collection; however, requests for materials in alternative formats or more recent editions may be requested.

In order to better serve BRPL cardholders, BRPL does not lend the following materials to other libraries through ILL: feature films, foreign language films, television series DVDs, video games, special collections, playaway audios, playaway views, computer software, standardized test preparation books, non-circulating books or periodicals, items cataloged as new, or materials that have been held by the BRPL for less than 6 months.

The BRPL only borrows and lends to those libraries within the state of Florida participating in the Florida Statewide Delivery Service. Materials are not loaned to or borrowed from libraries outside the United States. Renewals are not available for materials loaned to or borrowed from other libraries. 
 

Loan Period

The loan period for ILL materials is the loan period set by the lending library. The extension of loan periods for ILL materials is not allowed by most libraries. All ILL materials are subject to immediate recall by the lending library. In the event that an item is recalled by the lending library, the borrower will be notified and instructed to return the item to the BRPL immediately. 
 

Overdue, Lost and Damage Charges

An overdue charge of $0.40 per day, up to a maximum of $20, shall be charged for any item not returned to the BRPL by the expiration of the loan period. In the case of an item recalled by the lending library, the loan period shall be deemed to have expired 48 hours after the borrower has been notified of the recall. A patron receiving an ILL item is responsible for any loss or damage and will be charged the amount the lending library deems appropriate for the repair or replacement of the item. These charges are non-negotiable; BRPL cannot jeopardize its borrowing relationship with other libraries by failing to abide by the conditions imposed by a lending library. 
 

Copyright Laws

The BRPL reserves the right to refrain from any activity related to ILL that may constitute a violation of the provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law, the "CONTU" Guidelines, or any laws regarding the confidentiality of records. 
 

Interlibrary Loan Code

The rules set forth in these Guidelines and Procedures and in the Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States will govern all ILL transactions.