Interlibrary Loan Policy

Washington County Library System

  Principles

 Interlibrary loan is a service that supports the mission of the Washington County Library System by providing enhanced access to library materials and information.  The purpose of interlibrary loan is to obtain upon request by a patron, materials not available in the library and by providing materials owned by the library to other libraries to assist them in meeting their needs.

 The Washington County Library System affirms that interlibrary loan is an adjunct to, not a substitute for, the library’s collection.  In meeting patron needs, the Washington County Library System will exhaust its own collection before requesting items on interlibrary loan.  Items in frequent or recurring demand will be considered for purchase.  The Washington County Library System will not normally seek a loan of a material that has been published within the last six months.

Eligibility and Limits on Interlibrary Loan Borrowing

 Because interlibrary loan involves items owned by institutions other than Washington County Library System, and because of the labor of the service requires, certain restrictions and limits apply to interlibrary loan borrowing.

 A ten dollar ($10.00) deposit is charged to the patron when the ILL is checked out to ensure that book’s return.  The fee is refunded back to the patron when the book is returned back to the library in the condition it left in. 

·        Interlibrary loan service is available to Washington County Library System cardholders as long as they are in good standing with the library – i.e. have no pending fines, no overdue materials and have a permanent, verifiable address and phone.  A card holder must have a library card for a period of twelve months before being allowed the privilege of using the interlibrary loan system.

 Patrons who repeatedly ignore interlibrary loan rules by removing the label from the cover of the book or return ILL items damaged or late will not be eligible for ILL borrowing in the future. 

III.                Materials Offered

 Books, fiche, dissertations, theses and photocopies not currently owned by Washington County Library System are available through ILL.  This included item in the Washington County Library System catalog with no record or no holdings.  Textbooks will not be eligible for interlibrary loan. 

IV.              Charges

The Washington County Library System absorbs the charges involved in interlibrary loan unless there is a fee charged to borrow an item in addition to the mailing costs.  Washington County Library System will also not pay for the costs of photocopying.  These charges will be passed on to the patron. 

V.                 Loan Periods, Renewals of Items and Restrictions on Use 

Loan periods and renewal options are determined by the lending institution.  A lending library may recall an item at any time.  Some libraries do not allow renewals, or require that items be used in the library.

VI.              Notification of Patrons

Patrons will be notified of their ILL request via telephone, email or mail.

VII.            Overdue ILL

Any charge incurred for interlibrary loan items that are overdue to the Washington County Library System for return to the lending institution is the responsibility of the patron.  Fees paid by the Washington County Library System are routinely passed on to the library patron.  Fees not paid invoke automatic loss of all library privileges.