Interlibrary Loan Policies

What is Interlibrary Loan? (Top of Page) Interlibrary Loan is a service that expands the reach of the library by enabling users to borrow materials from over 6,700 libraries throughout the United States.
The library is connected electronically to the collections of all of these libraries and the Interlibrary Loan staff is able to send requests of our users to the locations owning material that are most likely to respond expeditiously and without charges to our requestors.

Who is Eligible to Use the Service? (Top of Page) JCCC Students, staff, faculty, and Johnson County residents in good standing with valid cards from Johnson County Community College Library may request either books or periodical articles through the Interlibrary Loan Department.

Some General Things to Keep in Mind: (Top of Page)

  1. Interlibrary Loan (ILL) cannot be used to borrow books deemed required reading, textbooks for college classes, or to borrow books that instructors wish to place on reserve.
  2. Books in our system that are checked out may not be requested on Interlibrary Loan.
    Patrons will have to place themselves on the circulation system request list.
  3. Interlibrary Loan requests are not accepted over the telephone.
    We accept requests on our online forms and our print forms.
  4. Due to U.S. copyright laws, it is illegal to request several articles from the same issue of a journal, or even from the same year.
  5. It is difficult to obtain copies of extremely long articles (over 30 pages).
  6. Please limit book requests to the number of items you can read in three weeks.
  7. The use of Interlibrary Loan is a privilege, not the right of every cardholder.
  8. If you return interlibrary loan material past the due date, we will notify you and charge you a fine. The fine will be $1 per day up to a maximum of the replacement cost of the book. Students with outstanding materials or fees will incur a hold on their college student record. Interlibrary Loan privileges are suspended until we receive the overdue books.
  9. The interlibrary loan (ILL) system relies on the good will of other libraries. If we fail to return other libraries’ books, it is within their right to refrain from lending our library any more books or photocopies. By returning material on time, patrons will help the continued success of the ILL system.

Interlibrary Loan Rules Borrowing Books: (Top of Page) Patrons may request books that are not owned by our library or books we own, all of whose copies are either missing or checked out/assumed lost status.

Book Request Forms: (Top of Page) Patrons requesting interlibrary loan of material not in our library must fill out the online form
(Click here for Book Request Form)

Book Pick-up Location: (Top of Page) Books on interlibrary loan will be held for patrons on the hold shelves at the Circulation Desk. A notice will be sent to the requestor informing him/her that the book has arrived.
Requestors must bring a valid library card in order to pick up an ILL book.

How Long Before the Book Arrives? (Top of Page) The turnaround time is usually between 7 and 10 days. However, in the case of either very popular or obscure titles, the process could take up to a month.

Cost of a Book Loan: (Top of Page) There is usually no charge for interlibrary loan of books; however, in the event of charges,
patrons must agree to them beforehand. A JCCC faculty member is entitled to a total maximum $25.00 in fee waivers for interlibrary loan charges during an academic year.

Borrowing Audio-Visual Material: (Top of Page) Patrons may request items in an audio-visual format that are not owned by the library.
Examples include audio-books, music and spoken word CDs, and DVDs.
We cannot guarantee our ability to locate a library who will lend the material to our patrons.
However, we are generally successful in our attempts.

Audio-Visual Request Forms: (Top of Page) Use the online or paper book request form and note that the item you are requesting is audio-visual format.
The procedure is identical to that of borrowing books.
Occasionally audio-visual materials have a shorter check-out period than books.
(Click here for AV Request Form)

Requesting Periodical Articles: (Top of Page) If the JCCC Library does not own a periodical title, or if the particular issue or article is missing, a patron may request a photocopy of the article on interlibrary loan.

Periodical Request Forms: (Top of Page) Patrons will fill out an online ILL for periodicals form completely for each article requested.
Incomplete citationswill be returned to requestors.
Attachment of a printout or photocopy of the original citation will speed the process of verification.
(Click here for a Periodical Request Form)

Article Pick-up Location: (Top of Page) Digital copies of articles received on interlibrary loan will be emailed to the requestor.

How Long Before an Article Arrives: (Top of Page) The turnaround time for the periodical requests is often 2 working days.
It can take up to a month for difficult requests.

Cost of Periodical Request: (Top of Page) There is usually no charge for ILL photocopies.
In the rare event that there are charges from another library, the borrower will be notified beforehand and asked whether or not he/she wishes to proceed with the transaction. A JCCC faculty member is entitled to a total maximum $25.00 in fee waivers for interlibrary loan charges during an academic year.