General Information on Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery
Help Desk Number:
404) 978-2025
Eligible Users
Service is available to any member of the Atlanta University Center community who needs material for an academic research project or course-related assignment. Patrons must have a valid library issued barcode. Those eligible for the service include:
- Faculty
- Currently Enrolled Students
- Staff
Please visit the Circulation Desk if you do not have a library barcode.
Guest borrowers and alumni do not have interlibrary loan privileges. Please request items through your corporate or public library.
If you have questions about your eligibility, please contact Interlibrary Services at 404-978-2025 or ill@auctr.edu.
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Delivery Timeframe
In most cases material is received in 7 to 10 days time. Some requests can take much longer, and others are here in two or three days. Delivery time depends on many factors, but the main variables are where the material is located and how quickly that library or supplier responds to requests.
The interlibrary loan staff assumes that you need the material as soon as possible and makes every effort to get the material to you in the shortest time possible. If you have a specific deadline, be sure to include that information when you submit your request.
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Submitting Requests / Limits
Requests may be submitted online using the online request service.
There is no limit on the number of requests you can submit. However, if you have a large number of requests to submit, you may find it useful to phase in the requests over a period of time rather than submit them all at once. Since material is lent to us by other libraries for only a short period of time (the usual loan period is four weeks), staggering the delivery over a longer time frame may give you more time to work with individual items.
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Publication Information
Accurate and complete publication information will enable the interlibrary loan staff to process your requests in the shortest possible time. For article information use one of the databases or reference sources on the Library's
Electronic Resources page. For other material, such as books and newspapers, use WorldCat.
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Checking On The Status Of Requests
Using the online request service you can check on the status of individual requests at any time by logging in to the system under your user name and password and navigating down the menu page to "Reviewing requests."
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Length Of Loan Period And Renewals
The loan period is set by the lending library. Normally the library allows us to have material for four weeks, although occasionally libraries restrict a loan to one or two weeks. The due date will be marked clearly on the material when you pick it up.
Using the online request service, you will receive an email letting you know whether or not a renewal has been granted; overdue materials cannot be renewed online.
Occasionally a lending library tells us at the time of the loan that they will not honor a renewal request. If there is such a restriction it will be noted on the material when you pick it up.
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Returning Interlibrary Loan Material
Please return interlibrary loan material to the Robert W. Woodruff Library's Reference Desk where you picked it up or to the Interlibrary Loan Office. Do not return interlibrary loan materials to the circulation desk or place them in the library book drop.
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Costs
Normally there is no cost associated with an interlibrary loan request unless the material is lost or damaged. If you need to request an unusually large number of items or the cost to obtain the material is greater than the usual fees for ILL service, we may ask you to share the costs of obtaining the material before we proceed.
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Difficult To Obtain Materials
Some libraries lend videos, sound recordings, and DVDs on interlibrary loan. We will attempt to borrow these items for you, but our success rate is not as high as with other material.
Material published prior to 1900 may be difficult to obtain on loan. Often it may be in a non-circulating collection (e.g., a rare books collection) or may be too fragile to ship. In some cases a photocopy of an excerpt can be obtained if a loan is not possible. If an excerpt would be satisfactory for your needs, please include this information when you place a request for a pre-1900 title.
- Manuscript and Archival Material
Archival and manuscript material is normally not available on interlibrary loan, although photocopy or microfilm copies of excerpts may be in some circumstances. Please speak to an interlibrary loan staff member if you anticipate needing such material.
Volumes of journals and other serially-published materials are not usually lent by other libraries, so it may not be possible to obtain them on loan. If you can use excerpts from the volume in lieu of a loan, please request the excerpt as a photocopy.
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Overdues & Fines
Interlibrary Loan does not charge regular fines for overdue materials which were ordered using ILLiad. If a loan is more than seven days overdue, you will be blocked from using ILLiad.
If items remain overdue, you may be blocked from using other library services (e.g. Circulation) and you may be billed for the replacement cost of the overdue item.
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Other Questions?
Other Questions? Please contact the interlibrary loan staff at (404)978-2025 or ill@auctr.edu. You may also contact the reference desk at (404)978-2067.