Interlibrary Loan Policy

Introduction

Interlibrary Loan is a service provided by the Lake-Sumter Community College (LSCC) Library to assist faculty, staff and students with their research needs. The Interlibrary Loan Department will locate and acquire, whenever possible, requested materials that are not owned by the LSCC Library.

The Interlibrary Loan Department is also responsible for the lending of materials owned by the LSCC Library to other institutions when the requests fall within the guidelines stated here.

The conditions of these services are based on the latest editions of the American Library Association National Interlibrary Loan Code; the Florida Interlibrary Loan Code; the Central Florida Library Cooperative Interlibrary Loan Code; and the Copyright Law, Title 17, U.S. Code.

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Interlibrary Loan Users

The library provides interlibrary loan services for the following individuals at all LSCC campuses:

• LSCC faculty
• LSCC staff
• LSCC students (currently enrolled)
• Dual enrollment students (currently enrolled)
• University 2+2 students (currently enrolled)
• LSCC Board of Trustees members
• LSCC Foundation Board members
• Any patron requesting a government document

Community patrons and students enrolled in Continuing Education non-credit classes are NOT eligible to request interlibrary loan materials. It is recommended that these individuals seek the services of a local public library.

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Borrowing Guidelines

Interlibrary Loan Materials

The following materials are NOT generally available through interlibrary loan:

• Reference Books
• Rare and other non-circulating books
• Periodicals (photocopies of specific articles may be requested)
• Audio-visual materials
• Textbooks
• Computer Software
• Bulky or fragile materials which are difficult to ship (i.e., multi-volume sets)

Request Forms

• To request interlibrary loan materials, the library user must fill out an interlibrary loan form, recording all information necessary for locating the material to be borrowed or photocopied. Forms are available at all LSCC libraries. Requests may be submitted in any campus library or via the online Interlibrary Loan Request form.
• Incomplete requests, requests for items in the LSCC collection, or requests for items listed above that are not generally available will be returned to the requester.

Number of Requests

• Students may submit a maximum of five requests per research project. The requested materials should be related to their course of study.
• Faculty, staff and Board members may submit an unlimited number of requests.
• The borrowing library is responsible for conforming to the copyright law and guidelines. Therefore, the library must adhere to the "5 in 5" rule. When the maximum of five periodical requests from a title of a periodical has been reached, any additional requests from that title will be denied or may require copyright clearance fees.

Turnaround Time

Interlibrary loan requests are processed as quickly as possible. The time needed to obtain an item is dependent upon the difficulty of the request, proximity of the lending library and the number of requests to be processed. A minimum of seven to ten days is usually needed to search, process and receive each requested item.

Rush Requests

Rush requests are done at the discretion of the Interlibrary Loan Librarian. Some libraries will fax a periodical article depending on the length of the article and other related factors.

South Lake and Sumter Campus Requests

Interlibrary loan requests from the students and faculty at the South Lake and Sumter campuses should be submitted via the online Interlibrary Loan Request form. The requests will then be processed in the same manner as all other requests. The interlibrary loan materials will be sent to the Leesburg campus library by the lending libraries where they will then be processed. The requester will be notified by phone that the material has arrived and will have the option of picking up the material at any campus library. Materials will be sent by courier to the South Lake or Sumter campuses, which will delay the receipt of the material by at least one day.

Notification

Students, adjunct faculty and Board members will be notified by phone as soon as possible after the requested item arrives at the library. Faculty and staff will be notified by phone or by campus e-mail. If the item is not picked up after five business days the requester will be notified that the item will be returned to the lending library if it is not picked up within the next two business days.

Due Dates and Renewals

Books:

• ALL interlibrary loan books are checked out on the LINCC system and given a two-week due date. Renewals are done at the discretion of the Interlibrary Loan Librarian based on the date the item is due back at the lending library and the lending library's renewal policy.
• LINCC request books are on loan for the time period specified by the lending library. The lending library may also specify the status of renewals.

Photocopies: Photocopies of periodical articles become the property of the requester and therefore no checkout procedure is necessary.

Charges and Fines

• Because interlibrary loan is considered a service for the students, faculty, staff and Board members of LSCC, no service charge is assessed for locating and requesting materials for academic use. The Interlibrary Loan Librarian will make every effort to borrow materials from libraries that do not charge a fee. In the event that the material is only available from a library that charges a fee, the Librarian will notify the requester of any fees, and the requester will have the option of withdrawing the request. If the requester chooses to proceed with the request, s/he will be responsible for payment of all fees incurred by writing a check made payable to the library which provided the requested materials.
• The requester is responsible for any replacement charges assessed by the lending library for interlibrary loan materials that are damaged or lost.

Violation of Interlibrary Loan Privileges

Should a student repeatedly disregard the Interlibrary Loan Guidelines, his/her interlibrary loan privileges may be withdrawn at the discretion of the Interlibrary Loan Librarian. Some actions which may result in suspension of privileges include the following: failure to pick up requested materials; failure to return books on time; and failure to pay any handling charges or fees.

Protocol

The FLIN guidelines (see attached) will be followed as closely as possible when selecting potential lenders for a requested item. CFLC member libraries should be considered first; then FLIN member libraries; then SOLINET member libraries and, finally, all other OCLC member libraries. An effort should be made to distribute the requests among the libraries so that no one library is overburdened with requests.

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Lending Guidelines

The LSCC Library will honor interlibrary loan requests from other libraries received by the following methods

• OCLC online request
• LINCC system wide request
• ALA form (mailed or hand carried)
• Fax request
• Telephone requests will be honored at the discretion of the Interlibrary Loan Librarian

The LSCC Library will usually NOT provide materials to libraries outside of the United States.

Materials NOT Generally Available for Lending

• Reference books
• Reserve materials
• Periodicals (photocopies are provided)
• Microforms (some government document microfiche may be available for library to library "in house" lending only.
• Audiovisual materials
• Computer software
• Rare or valuable materials
• Bulky or fragile materials which are difficult or expensive to ship
• Materials in high demand at LSCC

Methods of Delivery

• Interlibrary loan materials being loaned to Florida libraries covered by the Distance Learning Library Initiative (DLLI) will be packaged in DLLI bags for courier delivery.
• Lake County Library System libraries not covered by DLLI will be sent to the library by the courier. These materials should be placed in the box provided for this service in the Administration Building. The courier must be notified to pick up the materials. The requesting library should also be notified that the materials will be arriving by courier rather than U.S. mail.
• Books being loaned to all other libraries will be sent library rate through the U.S. mail.
• Photocopies may be sent by DLLI courier, by ARIEL software on the Document Delivery Workstation, or by first class mail. Photocopies of periodical articles may be faxed at the discretion of the Interlibrary Loan Librarian.

Turnaround Time

The OCLC message file should be checked first thing each morning. Any pending requests should be processed and taken to the mailroom by 11:30 a.m. The outgoing mail is taken to the post office each day at noon. Therefore, any afternoon pending requests will not be mailed until the next day. All requests should be processed within a twenty-four hour period.

Loan Period

• OCLC books are loaned for a period of four weeks. Renewals are granted for two weeks if the item is not in demand. When a loaned item becomes two weeks overdue, it should be recalled via OCLC. If it is not returned two weeks after it is recalled, the borrowing library should be contacted by telephone or e-mail about the overdue book.
• LINCC request books are on loan for a two week circulation period. Renewals are usually permitted.
• Photocopies become the property of the requester and therefore have no due date.

Charges and Fees

• No handling charges or fees will be assessed for any interlibrary loan request.
• If it is determined that an item has been lost, an invoice will be sent to the borrowing library. Upon receipt of a check for the replacement cost of the lost book, the item will be withdrawn from the LINCC system, and the check will be sent to the Business Office.
• If an item is damaged beyond repair, it will be treated in the same fashion as a lost book. The borrowing library should be notified that an invoice for the cost of the damaged item will be sent.

Reciprocal Agreements

Because the LSCC Library does not charge a fee for books or photocopies sent to other libraries, reciprocal borrowing agreements are usually accepted and complied with.

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Policy Review

This Policy will be reviewed and revised as necessary in order to reflect the changing information environment in the college libraries.

Policy last revised August 2008