Interlibrary and Resource Sharing Policies

Interlibrary loan is a service provided by the S.E. Wimberly Library to further the scholarly research of Florida Atlantic University's faculty, students, and staff by obtaining library materials unavailable at our library.  So that we may expedite the process, we ask that you take a moment to read through the information listed below.

UBorrow services share resources between colleges and universities. Available for books and other circulating materials, turnaround time is normally faster and checkout time is longer than traditional Interlibrary Loan.

Eligibility

FAU Libraries extend Interlibrary Loan privileges to all currently-enrolled students, faculty, and staff of Florida Atlantic University at the Boca Raton, Jupiter, Harbor Branch and SeaTech campuses. Privileges are also granted to currently-enrolled students, faculty, and staff of Palm Beach Community College (South campus), and authorized FLVC members. Interlibrary Loan privileges are extended to holders of Library cards by Friends of the Library, Alumni, and members of the  Lifelong Learning Society. These cards provide check-out privileges for items owned by the FAU Libraries only.
These card holders may seek ILL services at their local public library.

Copyright Restrictions

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code) governs the making of Photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research. If a user makes a request for or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. 

Copyright Policies

Using Content: ILL The CONTU Guidelines

CONTU Guidelines for copying from periodicals apply only to materials less than five years old (known as part of the "rule of five").
Up to five articles may be copied from a single periodical in one calendar year (known in part as the "rule of five").
A library with a subscription for a periodical which is not immediately available may consider a copy obtained from another library as if made from its own collection. All ILL requests must be accompanied by a copyright compliance statement from the requesting library.
The requesting library must maintain records of all requests and of their fulfillment.
These records must be kept for three calendar years after the request has been made.
No more than six copies of articles/chapters/small portions (20% or less) may be made from a non-periodical (including a book) during the entire term of copyright of the work. The library may need to pay a fee to obtain copyright permission directly from the copyright holder or from a copyright representative for obtaining more than five copies with dates more recent than five years.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a request for a photocopy of an item, if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

Submitting Requests

ILLiad (Interlibrary Loan Internet Accessible Database) is the online resource sharing and ILL management system used by the FAU Library to send, receive and process interlibrary and branch campus (document delivery) requests. The system allows us to provide expedited services to our ILL users and allows users to track the progress of their requests online. To register as an ILLiad user, click on the link to ILLiad and complete the First Time Users registration.  

Materials ILL Will Not Order

The ILL Department will NOT order any of the following categories of materials:

  • Items available in the FAU Library in any format, including microform or electronic.
  • Items available on Course Reserve in the FAU Library.
  • Textbooks required/recommended for use in classes. Textbooks are available for purchase in the FAU Bookstore.
  • Standardized test preparation books (i.e. LSAT, GRE, MCAT, etc.)
  • Items which the lender is charging FAU to borrow, and would cost more than the requester has indicated that he or she is willing to pay.

Exceptions:

  • Books listed as “Lost” in the FAU Catalog, provided that they do not come under categories 2-5 above.
  • Photocopies of articles which are torn out of FAU’s copy of a journal or book (if not available electronically).
  • Photocopies of articles from FAU journals which are currently at the bindery (if not available electronically).
  • If an item is not found on the shelf, and is not checked out, complete a Report of Book and/or Periodical Not Found form at the Circulation Desk. The staff will attempt to locate your material, and if it is not found, will pass your request on to ILL.
  • A hold or recall should be placed on an FAU book which is currently checked out to another patron. If the book is not returned within 10 days, it may be ordered through ILL.

You may request the library purchase an item by completing a purchase request form.

Difficult to Obtain Materials

The following categories of materials may be difficult or impossible to obtain. The ILL Department will attempt to do so, but these are often subject to more restrictive lending policies at most libraries and may not be available:

  • Non-circulating materials (often: reference books, rare or very old books, archival materials, special collections, etc.)
  • Very new books and current bestsellers
  • Entire issues of periodicals
  • Audiovisual materials (videos, CDs. etc.)
  • Genealogical materials
  • Patents, standards, specifications, and internal corporate/technical reports
  • Non-circulating theses and dissertations. In many cases these may be available for purchase through a service called Dissertation Express

Costs

Through membership in statewide, regional and national resource sharing consortia, the FAU Library can supply most (over 90%) ILL materials to its users without charge. All avenues for “free” loans and copies are pursued first. However, some lenders will only provide materials if a fee is paid. In these cases, the fee is passed on to the user borrowing the materials.

Faculty members may pay fees by expenditure transfer from their grant account number. If this option is desired a note including the grant number should be placed in the comments field of the request form.

Cost Estimates

If the cost to obtain the item exceeds the authorized amount, the ILL office will send you a cost estimate via email. ILL must receive approval for the amount on the estimate before it will be requested again.

Timeliness

Obtaining books and other returnables normally takes 10 working days via ILL and 4-5 days using UBorrow. Articles normally take 2-5 days.
Times can vary widely depending on availabilty, location and delivery method. Some materials are not available for Interlibrary Loan.

Typically, Jupiter Campus Library materials take from 2-5 business days, assuming the material is on the shelf and not checked out to another person.
Harbor Branch materials may take 5-10 days. Please plan your research accordingly.

To speed up the process:

  • Make sure that FAU does not own the item you are requesting. On average, ILL rejects about 15% of requests received because FAU owns the material. Be sure to check the FAU catalog as well as the FAU Libraries list of electronic journals before submitting any ILL request.
  • Complete a separate request for each item. Do not attempt to paste in a list of citations or a bibliography. Copyright regulations require a separate request for each item, even if they are articles in the same journal.
  • Provide as much information about each item as possible, including the ISSN or ISBN number if known.
  • If FAU owns some issues of a journal but not the specific issue needed, or, if the pages needed are torn out of the issue, make a note of this in the comments field.

Notification

The ILLiad system provides e-mail notification to people when their materials arrive. All registered users must have a Florida Atlantic University e-mail account to insure proper notification. E-mail accounts are provided automatically for all students from the point of application to the University. To find out what your username is, also known as FAUNetID, go to MyFAU and click on Account information then select How To Look Up Your FAUNet ID.

Pick-up and Return of ILL Materials

ILL materials should be picked up at the Circulation Desks at the Boca Raton and Jupiter libraries. Materials should be picked up as soon as possible to allow for maximum length of use. Another person may pick up your material for you, provided that you have designated this person to do so in ILLiad, and he or she presents your library card or Owlcard. Books should also be returned at the Circulation Desk. Books for users at the SeaTech campus will be charged out on their card number, and sent by courier to the SeaTech office. They should be returned to the ILL Office at the Boca Raton campus library, using the same packing materials they were sent in. Materials mailed to distant students should be returned to the Boca Raton campus library ILL office. Allow shipping time for returns. Materials are due back at the library by the date due. Failure to return items on time or items returned damaged may be subject to fines,fees or other sanctions. For mailing or contact information, CLICK HERE. Photocopies obtained through ILL do not have to be returned.

Loan Period

The loan period for borrowed materials is determined by the supplier. You may usually have the item for 3-4 weeks from the time of receipt. Any special requests by the lending institution must be honored, for example, “14 day Loan,” “No Renewals,” or “In-Library Use Only.” Please note that although your library card might entitle you to semester or academic year loans for books owned by FAU, these loan periods do not apply to materials borrowed from other libraries. Please observe the due date on the book band covering the ILL book. Do not remove the book label or band.

Renewals

Materials borrowed from other libraries may only be renewed with the permission of the lending library. If you want us to request the renewal of an ILL book, log into your ILLiad account 10 days or less prior to the original due date, and select "View/Renew Checked Out Items." Select the item you’d like to renew and click on the "Request Renewal" button. Renewals cannot be requested through ILLIad if the material is overdue. You will receive a tentative extension, an email will be sent notifying you of the actual date the lending library has allowed. You may also check your account in 2-3 days to see if the item has been renewed and what the new date is, or if the request has been denied. If the renewal request is denied, the book must be returned on the original due date. Since the FAU Library does not own the book, we have no jurisdiction over lending libraries’ due dates.

Individual items may not be borrowed more than once per semester through Interlibrary Loan. ILL does not support long-term borrowing of materials from other libraries.If an item is need for an extended period, the FAU Libraries Collection Development Coordinator or Campus Librarian should be contacted to investigate purchasing it for the FAU Libraries collection.

Overdue ILL Materials

Overdue materials borrowed from non-FAU libraries damage our relationships with the lending libraries, and jeopardize our ability to borrow items from them in the future. ILLiad will notify users up to 3 times to return overdue ILL materials. On the third notification, ILLiad and FAU Library privileges will be suspended, and users will be responsible for any associated overdue and/or replacement costs. Your library acccount may also be blocked awaiting notification by the lending library of replacement charges which will be added to your university account.

Please understand that returning materials by the due date is your responsibility. Any attempts we make to contact you are a courtesy, and our failure to do so, or your missing our notices for any reason, do not release you from your responsibility to return the materials on time.

Borrow Materials from other FAU Campuses

The ILLiad system will allow registered users to request materials held at branch campus. This process in known as Document Delivery.

Returning Interlibrary Loans

All interlibrary loan or FAU borrowed materials should be returned to the circulation desk at the location you picked them up or shipped to the Boca Campus Library ILL department. Unless otherwise noted, photocopies of articles do not need to be returned. SeaTech users should return both interlibrary and FAU loaned books to the ILL office in the Boca Raton campus library (LY 214) via the OE Courier and campus mail, using the padded envelope or box the material was sent in.

Questions regarding public service policies should be directed to Access Services.

Last modified at 09/01/2023 - 16:10 PM