R.I. Government Agencies | Privacy Policy |
Revised November, 2002 by LORI Committee Interlibrary Loan Working Group
Interlibrary loan service is essential to the vitality of libraries of all types and sizes as a means of greatly expanding the range of materials available to users. Lending between libraries is in the public interest and should be encouraged. We hope that this code will encourage Library of Rhode Island (LORI) members to make their interlibrary loan policies as liberal and as easy to apply as possible. We also intend the code to be as widely applicable as possible. Although aiming primarily to define interlibrary loan within LORI, the code is designed to mesh with protocols and agreements in effect in the world outside of our state. Consequently, this code follows, whenever possible, the precedents of the National Interlibrary Loan Code (as adopted by ALA in 1994, revised 2001), which is attached in Appendix A. In the spirit of that document, this code acknowledges that interlibrary loan should serve as an adjunct to, not a substitute for, collection development.
2.1 For the purpose of this code, interlibrary loans are transactions in which library materials are made available by one library to another through the Library of Rhode Island Network (LORI).
2.2 The borrowing library is that library which originates an interlibrary loan request.
2.3 The lending library is the owner of materials supplied to the borrowing library.
3.1 Any type of library material may be requested on loan or in copy form from another library in accordance with the existing ILL procedures. The lending library has the privilege of deciding in each case whether a particular item or format should or should not be provided, and whether the original or a copy should be sent.
3.2 This agreement does not supersede other interlibrary agreements between signatories of this code.
4.1 Interlibrary lending does not relieve any library of the responsibility of developing its own collection. Each library will provide the resources to meet the usual needs of its patrons.
4.2 The borrowing library agrees to make every effort, using the reference interview process, to fully utilize their own resources before proceeding to interlibrary loans.
4.3 Each library agrees to inform its users of the availability of interlibrary loan service.
4.4 Each library shall establish a written ILL Policy which should be included via the library Service Policy submitted to the Rhode Island Office of Library & Information Services (OLIS) with LORI Network Standards and shall abide by that policy consistently and without discrimination.
4.5 Personnel responsible for interlibrary loan in each library shall be familiar with relevant interlibrary loan documents and aids including the Interlibrary Loan Code and Interlibrary Loan Procedures, and bibliographic tools and services. Each library should have a paid staff member to oversee the interlibrary loan operations and provide sufficient staff to insure efficient and uninterrupted interlibrary loan service, including staff absences, throughout the calendar year.
4.6 Requested material must be described as completely and accurately as possible following accepted bibliographic practice and must be verified in standard reference or bibliographic tools. If an item cannot be verified, the request may be sent to the ILL Clearinghouse at OLIS; the statement "unable to verify" (UTV) must be included along with information about the original source of citation, and a list of sources checked.
4.7 The borrowing library is responsible for compliance with the copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code) and its accompanying guidelines, and should inform its users of the applicable portions of the law. If the indication of compliance is not provided, the lending library may refuse to provide the requested material.
4.8 Requests shall be routed using the following protocols:
4.8.1 The borrowing library may send title and periodical requests for materials directly to a library that it has identified as the sole source in LORI.
4.8.2 If the borrowing library has identified more than one source of a title or periodical article, it will use the following order of precedence in directing its request:
other LORI member libraries, using Brown University last
4.8.3 If the borrowing library can identify no source for a title or periodical request, it will forward the request to the LORI Interlibrary Loan Clearinghouse at OLIS or proceed independently to request from OCLC or other union lists.
4.8.4 The borrowing library may send subject requests to Statewide Reference Resources Center at the Providence Public Library.
4.9 The borrowing library and its users must comply with the conditions of loan established by the lending library. Unless specifically forbidden by the lending library, copying by the borrowing library is permitted provided that it is in accordance with the copyright law and no damage to the original material will result.
4.10 The borrowing library is responsible for returning loans promptly and in good condition.
4.11 The safety of borrowed materials is the responsibility of the borrowing library from the time the material leaves the lending library until it is received back by the lending library. The borrowing library is responsible for packaging the material so as to ensure its return in good condition.
4.12 The borrowing library shall meet costs of repair and replacement in accordance with the preferences of the lending library, if the material is damaged or lost.
5.1 The lending library shall be as liberal and unrestrictive as possible with regard to its lending policies, taking into account the interests of its primary clientele. The lending library shall provide a copy of its ILL service policy (see 4.4) upon request.
5.2 Personnel responsible for interlibrary loan in each library shall be familiar with relevant interlibrary loan documents and aids including the Interlibrary Loan Code and Interlibrary Loan Procedures, and bibliographic tools and services. Each library should have a paid staff member to oversee the interlibrary loan operations and provide sufficient staff to insure efficient and uninterrupted interlibrary loan service, including staff absences, throughout the calendar year.
5.3 The lending library shall process requests, forward the request to the next library indicated on the request form when necessary, and provide status report to the lending library within three (3) working days.
5.4 All requests that do not conform to this code or to the Interlibrary Procedures shall be returned to the borrowing library within two (2) working days. The lending library shall indicate to the borrowing library why it cannot answer the request.
5.5 Conditions of loan shall be stated clearly and carefully by the lending library. The lending library should notify the borrowing library when the request is filled and state any condition for the loan.
5.6 The lending library shall notify borrowing libraries when it is unable to fill requests and indicate the reason(s) why.
5.7 When filling requests, the supplying library should send sufficient information with each item to identify the request.
5.8 The lending library may, at its discretion, accept replacement of materials in lieu of payment.
6.1 A lending library will not charge for loan of its materials.
6.2 No charges, for item such as photocopies, may be assessed without prior authorization from the requesting library. Request for more than 30 pages will be provided at the discretion of the lending library.
6.3 A lending library will not charge a borrowing library overdue fines or reserve charges. However, a borrowing library may charge its patrons its established fines.
7.1 The duration of loan is determined by the lending library's policy with additional time allowed for transit. If not specified, the duration of loan is assumed to be four weeks.
7.2 All material on loan is subject to recall after seven days, and the borrowing library shall comply promptly.
7.3 Interlibrary loan material shall be returned promptly.
7.4 A renewal request shall be made in time to reach the lending library not later than the due date. If the lending library does not respond, it will be assumed that renewal, for the same period as the original loan, is granted.
8.1 Each LORI member library will keep and report the following statistics on ILL to OLIS on an annual basis:
8.1.1 number of items borrowed from any other Rhode Island libraries
8.1.2 number of items borrowed from out of state libraries
8.1.3 number of items lent to any other RI libraries
8.1.4 number of items lent to out-of-state libraries
9.1 All LORI libraries shall agree to comply with the provisions of this Code and keep OLIS informed of current ILL contact information.
9.2.1 OLIS is responsible for upholding the provisions of this Code.
9.3 A LORI library shall notify OLIS of repeated violations of this Code by any other LORI library. Continued disregard of any provision of the policy is sufficient reason for suspension of borrowing privileges by OLIS after prior warning.
9.4 OLIS reserves the right to mediate in matters of dispute over borrowing privileges between or among LORI libraries. No LORI library may suspend borrowing privileges to another LORI library it considers to be in violation of the provision of this policy without the express permission of OLIS.
10.1 This revision of the LORI Interlibrary Loan Code will become effective on November 26, 2002.
10.2 Each LORI member library must keep its membership current by reviewing and signing this ILL Code every three years upon request of the Office of Library and Information Services.
10.3 The Office of Library and Information Services will maintain a list of signatories to this code on the LORI website.
Office of Library and Information Services, One Capitol Hill, Providence RI 02908-5803, (401)574-9300; Fax: (401)574-9320
Partial funding for this website and programs of the Office of Library and Information Services
is
provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.