McQuade Library Interlibrary Loan Policy

Definition
Interlibrary loan (ILL) is a process by which a library requests materials from, or supplies materials to, another library.

Purpose
The purpose of interlibrary loan is to obtain material not available in the McQuade Library collection or in the NOBLE (North of Boston Library Exchange) network for members of the Merrimack College community and to loan material in the McQuade Library collection not found in other libraries. The conditions of this service are based on the American Library Association National Interlibrary Loan Code, 1993; NOBLE Interlibrary Loan Code, 1985; the CONTU Guidelines on Photocopying under Interlibrary Loan Arrangements; and NELINET Interlibrary Loan Reciprocal Code.

Who May Use Interlibrary Loan
Students, faculty, and staff of Merrimack College are eligible for borrowing privileges. Alumni, members of the community at large and members of the NOBLE network are not permitted to use this service. Requests may be submitted via print or electronic form.

Any library may request materials from the McQuade Library. The borrowing library is responsible for compliance with the copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code) and its accompanying guidelines, and should inform its users of the applicable portions of the law. The request must come via OCLC, ALA form, or email. Libraries will lose their borrowing privileges only if they are in violation of the national and/or state or regional interlibrary loan codes.

Types of Materials Available
The lending library determines what materials are or are not to be loaned. Generally reference materials, periodicals, rare books, genealogical materials, videos, CDs, microforms or microfiche, and fragile items are not available. Dissertations or theses can be difficult to obtain because there is usually only one copy at the lending library. If there is a copy in the library's main collection there is a chance it may be loaned.

McQuade Library attempts to maintain as generous a lending policy as possible. Any book in our main collection may go out. Reference materials, Arundel Room materials, microfiche, microfilm, and periodicals are not loaned.

Materials Requested of McQuade Library
McQuade Library treats ILL users from other libraries in the same manner as they would Merrimack College users. Requested materials are circulated for four weeks and may be renewed for two more weeks if there is no request for the item. The library reserves the right to recall any item at any time.

The library will accept ILL requests via OCLC, ALA form, email or fax. Telephone requests will not be accepted. There are no charges for ILL.

McQuade Library ILL policies on charges, loan periods, etc. are available to potential borrowers via the OCLC Name-Address Directory. These policies are subject to change at any time.

As per standard practice, and in accordance with the national guidelines, the borrowing library is responsible for the replacement of any lost item due to patron negligence or due to loss in mail or regional delivery.

Charges and the Use of Interlibrary Loan Materials
McQuade Library makes every effort to locate lending libraries that do not charge for the use of their materials. Sometimes this is not possible and periodical requests will be sent to the Boston Public Library (BPL), as they are the state-funded document delivery providers and will obtain articles for us from libraries that charge. Boston does not pass these charges on to us. The ILL user will be notified if we send requests to Boston as turnaround time will be extended and the staff will need to know if the ILL user can wait for materials to arrive. Book requests that cannot be filled by McQuade Library for free will be sent to Memorial Hall Library in Andover as they are the Regional Library and provide this service to regional members. Again, ILL users will be notified if this is necessary and will decide if they wish to pursue the request. In the case of dissertations or theses in which there is almost always a loan charge, the ILL user will be notified and asked if they are willing to pay the fee. If the patron is willing to pay, the materials will be requested and the user will pay upon receipt of materials. If the ILL user declines to pay the request will be canceled.

McQuade Library does not request materials that are in the library collection unless it is discovered to be missing.

The lending library has every right to place restrictions on the use of a borrowed item. A common restriction is "in-house" library use of valuable or irreplaceable items. The lending library determines due dates and these dates will be respected. Repeated disregard of this rule by any ILL user will result in a revocation of this service to that user until all materials have been either returned or paid for. ILL users must pay for any lost or damaged borrowed materials. The replacement cost is determined by the lending library.

Processing Time

Borrowing Materials:
It is our goal to process up to ten requests per patron per day. ILL users are asked to allow up to two weeks for borrowed materials to arrive. It is highly recommended that you specify a deadline when making requests. Most materials are received within a few days via U.S. mail, regional delivery, fax or email however, keep in mind that McQuade Library has no control over when materials arrive.

Lending Materials:
It is our goal to process ILL requests from libraries within 1-2 days of receipt of requests.

Notification of Arrival of Materials
ILL users will be contacted by phone or email (this information is given on the ILL request form) when their material has arrived. Books must be picked up at the library because they must be checked out on the circulation system. Books will be held at the Circulation Desk for one week and if they are not checked out are returned to the lending library. Members of the Merrimack College community who live or work on campus may have their article requests sent to them via campus mail. A delivery preference may be indicated on the ILL request form.

Returning Materials and Renewal Requests
All borrowed materials should be returned to the Circulation Desk. The ILL user should leave the ILL bookstrap or identification band on the book.

If a renewal is necessary the ILL user should notify Circulation or Reference staff before the original due date. Renewals are not guaranteed as they are given at the discretion of the lending library. Repeated disregard of lending library due dates by ILL users will result in the loss of ILL service until all materials have been returned or paid for.