GCU Library Policies: InterLibrary Loan (ILL) Policy

The GCU Library participates in national lending and borrowing consortia to provide access to materials that the GCU Library may not own. This is a free service provided to current GCU students, faculty, and staff. Physical materials are shipped with a postage paid returned mailer and priority is placed on rush requests. The Library is a member of the following consortia that involve reciprocal interlibrary loan agreements, including AMIGOS Library Services, the Christian Library Association, the Central Arizona Biomedical Library Association (CABL), OCLC, National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Libraries Very Interested in Sharing, Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium (SCELC), and the Theological Library Cooperative of Arizona (TLCA). Additional information on interlibrary loans is located on the Interlibrary Loan Guide.

The GCU Library abides by U.S. copyright law with respect to interlibrary loan. The following sections of the U.S. Copyright Act are pertinent to interlibrary loan:  Section 107 (Fair Use) and Section 108 (Reproduction by libraries and archives). CCL (Compliance Copyright Law) refers to compliance with copyright law.

Definition

• Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a way to share resources between the GCU Library and other institutions. “The term ILL includes the delivery of materials that are not returned to the lending library.”
• The GCU Library uses ILL to borrow material from other libraries. Potential borrowing libraries may also request to borrow a copy of an item that the GCU Library owns.
• Any current GCU student, faculty, or staff may request an interlibrary loan. This service allows GCU to borrow copyrighted materials from other institutions “provided the ‘aggregate quantities’ of copied items received by the borrowing library do not substitute a periodical subscription or purchase of a work.”  Interlibrary Loan supports the Library mission by obtaining academic materials for Library users.

Borrowing Requests

• ILLs can be requested through the interlibrary loan form found on the Interlibrary Loan Guide .
• All users are allowed 50 active requests at a time.
• ILL requests can take anywhere from a few days, up to a few weeks for processing and sending.
• Charges
  • Interlibrary loan is a free service for current GCU students, faculty, and staff.
  • Physical materials are shipped with a postage paid return mailer at no cost.
  • Overdue, lost, or missing materials will be subject to replacement fees and suspension of Library borrowing privileges. Replacement fees remain on the borrower’s Library account until the item is returned, a replacement copy is received, or fees are paid.
• Users will be notified if the requested material(s) cannot be obtained due to:
  • Lack of availability
  • Insufficient time
  • Mailing restrictions, including non-circulating materials
• ILL materials are obtained for the exclusive use of the user. The user is solely responsible for the safety and condition of the item until it is returned to the GCU Library.

Delivery & Return

• Materials requiring return to the lending institutions are defined as loan items including books and other bound items. Non-returnable materials (digitized materials) are defined as copy items.
• Loan items
  • All loan items are delivered to the GCU Library, before being delivered to the user.
  • Due dates for loan materials are determined by the lending institution. All loan items must be returned on or before the due date to the GCU Library.
  • Renewals may be requested, but are not guaranteed. It is up to the lending institution to grant or deny renewal requests.
  • The lending library has the right to recall a loaned item at any time. The user, once notified of the recall, must return the loaned item to the GCU Library immediately.
  • Notifications are sent via email throughout the loan process, including notices about overdue materials.
• Copy items
  • All copy items are delivered digitally via the Tipasa user portal.
  • Once delivered, ILL copy items are available to view, print, or download for 30 days or five views, whichever comes first.

Limitations

• The GCU Library does not guarantee that a resource will be shared by the lending institution.
• The GCU Library will not process ILL requests for the following:
  • Anything already in the GCU Library collection, regardless of format
  • Course materials and textbooks
  • Complete issues of journals
  • Non-scholarly resources
  • Anything that violates copyright or other Library or GCU policies

Patron data such as name, phone number, and email is regularly removed from applicable Library systems.