Interlibrary Loan Policies
ABOUT INTERLIBRARY LOAN
In support of the research and scholarship of Oakland University the Kresge Library's Interlibrary Loan Office borrows books, reports, journal articles and other research materials not owned by the OU Libraries. These materials are obtained from sources throughout the United States and around the world. The Interlibrary Loan Office participates in a number of resource sharing agreements and other independent reciprocal relationships. The Interlibrary Loan Office also uses various commercial document providers to supply documents in copyright violation.
ELIGIBILITY and COST
The Kresge Library Interlibrary Loan Office serves the Oakland University community. This includes currently enrolled students of all levels, faculty and staff. These users must have a picture OU ID (Spirit Card) and must have the cards validated at the Service Desk of the Kresge Library.
Those outside the Oakland University community should contact their home library for interlibrary loan service.
Presently iInterlibrary loan is funded by the University and requests are filled at no cost to the user.
TURNAROUND TIME
The average turn-around time for books is 12 working days and for photocopies is 6 working days. The greatest variable affecting turn-around time is response from the lending library.
LIMITATIONS
Some lending libraries may stipulate "for use in library only" or "no photocopying" or "no renewals". These restrictions must be adhered to. Reference works, materials in special or rare book collections, most dissertations and theses, textbooks and most journals and audio-visual materials cannot be borrowed on interlibrary loan. The Kresge Library is obligated to follow current copyright guidelines, Title 17, U.S. Code.
Note: Loans are not transferable from one person to another.
PICK-UP and RETURN of MATERIALS
All books must be picked up at the Service Desk and will be charged to the borrower's ILLiad account. Articles are delivered electronically where possible. If electronic delivery is not possible then they must be picked up at the Circulation Desk or they will be sent via campus mail. Patrons will be notified by email when materials are ready to be picked up.
All interlibrary loans must be returned to the Kresge Library Service Desk.
ILL materials must never be returned through the Library's book drops.
BOOK JACKET
A jacket attached to the front of each item contains the due date, patron's name and any conditions set by the lending library. This jacket must never be removed from the item.
OVERDUE, DAMAGED OR LOST MATERIALS
The library charges a fine of $1.00 per day for each overdue interlibrary loan item. All patrons will be BLOCKED from ILL service after the third overdue notice. Failure to receive notification does not relieve borrowers of fines accrued. In addition, failure to return overdue items will result in a hold on the borrower's university record.
When an item is ten or more days overdue the MeLCat system or the ILLiad system will declare it LOST and bill as follows:
- $70 replacement fee (refundable if item returned)
- $30 overdue fine (non-refundable for students)
PRIVACY OF INTERLIBRARY LOAN RECORDS
All interlibrary loan users can expect that under most circumstances, no one outside of library staff will have information on the items which they have requested or used. Library staff will maintain and access interlibrary loan records to the extent needed to manage the interlibrary loan databases: for recalling materials, for identifying and retrieving overdue items and also for billing patrons.
The Kresge Library is committed to protecting the privacy of its users and does so in compliance with the ALA Code of Ethics and the Michigan Library Privacy Act.
MAXIMUM NUMBER of REQUESTS
MelCat
- Users are allowed to have 50 active requests in the system at any one time.
ILLiad
- Be realistic regarding the amount of material you can handle.
- If you have over ten orders, please prioritize them.
- Prioritizing will enable you to receive the most important materials first.
SUBMISSION of REQUESTS (note the limitations above.)
MelCat
- Locate an item in MeLCat and click the "Get this for me" link. Then logon with your name and Grizz number to submit the request.
RENEWALS
MelCat
- Logon to MyMeL
- Choose Items Currently Checked Out
- Check the box for the item to be renewed
- Choose the Submit button
- Renewals are allowed at the discretion of the lending library
- A new due date must be requested at least 4 working days prior to the current due date
ILLiad
- Logon to ILLiad
- Choose View/Renew Checked Out Items
- Double click the transaction number on the left of the specified item
- Choose the Request Renewal button
- Renewals are allowed at the discretion of the lending library
- A new due date must be requested at least 4 working days prior to the current due date