Interlibrary Loan: Policies

Who Is Eligible

St. Lawrence University faculty, students, and staff can use interlibrary loan services.  Residents of St. Lawrence County who have a valid St. Lawrence University Libraries borrower’s card may also use our interlibrary loan services.  

Students, faculty, and staff who are from one of the area’s Associated Colleges should use the interlibrary loan services provided by their institution.

Who Answers Questions

The Interlibrary Loan Office is staffed by Laurie Davis and Julia Courtney.  They process all of the requests for interlibrary loan, whether they are print or electronic, and whether they move through our Connect NY or ILLiad. Questions about specific requests should be directed to Laurie or Julia at 229-5485. We would like to acknowledge and applaud the student workers we have, and the vital part they play in interlibrary loan operations.

Public Services Librarian Paul Doty is the supervisor for the department.  Questions about how to best facilitate a research project by making the most effective use of interlibrary loan or concerns about interlibrary loan should be directed to him at either 229-5483 or pdoty@stlawu.edu.    

What is Connect NY

Connect NY is the best option for making an interlibrary loan request for books.  Connect NY is a union catalog of 14 universities in New York State, and is integrated into our ODYsseus catalog.  Requests for books that can be fulfilled through Connect NY arrive in two to three days, although not all book requests can be met by Connect NY.

What is ILLiad

ILLiad is our online interlibrary loan system.  It should be used for book requests that are not in Connect NY, and requests for all other materials.  Library users will need to open an ILLiad account, but that has to be done only once.  All requests for articles are made through ILLiad.

How Long Does it Take for Materials to Arrive

Books requested through Connect NY will arrive in two to three days (assuming everything is working well). Books requested through ILLiad take anywhere from two to ten days. It should be noted that you can request any title whatsoever.

Articles are a little different—if you supply an ISSN number with your article request it is possible that we can get your article in 24 hours or less.  This would be true for many, but not all articles. Depending on where we need to look to find the article you want it may also take two to ten days for your article to arrive.  Our goal is certainly to be able to deliver most articles within the 24 hour turn-around time, but there are some pretty obscure journals out there!

You can request that articles are delivered either in print or electronically.  Not surprisingly, requests for electronic articles move more quickly.  Electronic requests are delivered as pdf files to ILLiad, where you find them through the View/Download Electronically Received Articles button.  Requests that come in print are available at the ODY Circulation Desk. You will be notified by e-mail when requests arrive, articles are yours to keep.

Why All the Fuss About ISSN Numbers

It cannot be overstated—having the ISSN enables the ILL staff to process your request much more efficiently and is a critical component in our meeting the 24 hour delivery time.  Citations for articles in our databases and indexes include the ISSN number, and help desk staff (as well as reference librarians) can help you identify the ISSN for any periodical if it isn’t apparent.

If you make a request for an article from a database by clicking on the   button and using the interlibrary loan link on the Find@SLU page, the article request form will be automatically filled out and will include the ISSN number.  That certainly is the easiest way to make a request, and be sure the ISSN number is where it needs to be.  

Can I Get All My Article Requests Electronically

Yes. When you open an ILLiad account you’ll have delivery options for articles.  You can also change to electronic delivery at any time.

Why Might a Request Not Be Filled

There are two things that derail a request…a mistake in the citation or an item that is sufficiently unique so we cannot find a library that will lend it.  For simple reasons it is imperative that we have a correct citation, and more often than not it’s a mistake in the citation that throws us off  (another reason to use the Find@SLU ILL link, it’s never wrong!) It should be noted that not all libraries loan VHS or DVD, so we have more of a chance of failure with those.

What is the Center for Research Libraries

The Center for Research Libraries is a repository for large collections of primary source material.  Descriptions of their collections and their catalog are available on the CRL web site, and the site is linked from a number of places on our library web site.  We have an interlibrary loan arrangement with CRL, so materials in the CRL collection you might be interested in can be requested through ILLiad, or Connect NY, as CRL holdings material is part of the Connect NY catalog.  Simply use Connect NY or the appropriate ILLiad form (use a Free Text Request for microfilm).  When making the request in ILLiad be sure to indicate the material is from CRL.  

What About Faculty Rush Requests

Rush requests are a service we offer to facilitate research done by members of the SLU Community.  Faculty who are in a situation where even a twenty four hour turn-around time won’t work can either Paul Doty (229-5483, pdoty@stlawu.edu) or Science Librarian Eric Williams-Bergen (229-5405, ewilliamsbergen@stlawu.edu). We can often help with “last minute” article requests, and we are always happy to try. Students who are involved in significant research projects under faculty supervision may also make rush article requests.

What Are the Costs

There are no fees for interlibrary loan services.

How Many Items Can I Request

There is a 25 item request for titles in ConnectNY.  There is no limit on the number of requests that can be made for materials through ILLiad.

Can I Renew Items

There is a 21 day renewal available on titles borrowed through Connect NY.  The books we borrow through ILLiad come from libraries with different policies, so one needs to consult with the Interlibrary Loan Office staff on renewals on a title by title basis. Lending libraries may recall titles at any time.

Could I Find What I Want in Google Book or Google Scholar

Maybe.  It’s never a bad idea to look there, Google indexes and has digitized some really interesting stuff.  However, most of the publications you’d acquire through interlibrary loan won’t have the full text in either Google Book or Google Scholar. Google book is best for older works in the public domain, and then provides sections of most of the material it has that is under copyright (and c’mon you really should read the whole book!). Google Scholar may lead you to the journal you need, but more likely than not the text of the article won’t be there. That said, Google Scholar is a very helpful research tool, and it should be a part of any serious research project.    

Can I Lose My Interlibrary Loan Privilege

Yes. Interlibrary loan is based on libraries cooperating in good faith, and libraries certainly have the prerogative not to loan to an institution that has demonstrated it does not respect their property.  Failure to return books borrowed through interlibrary loan or failure to take financial responsibility for materials borrowed through interlibrary loan will result in a termination of interlibrary loan privileges.

What is the Interlibrary Loan Mission Statement

The St. Lawrence University Libraries' interlibrary loan service has been established to augment the SLU library collections by borrowing materials not available to our users locally or through regional consortial borrowing agreements. In addition, resource sharing is facilitated by making most of the SLU Libraries' collections available to other libraries for the use of their patrons.

What is the Interlibrary Loan Code for the University States

The Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States is a set of guidelines and goals for interlibrary loan service developed by the American Library Association.  The SLU Libraries vigorously strive to meet all of these goals and guidelines.