Interlibrary Loan: Policies

Who Is Eligible?

St. Lawrence University faculty, students, and staff are eligible to use interlibrary loan services. Residents of St. Lawrence County who have a valid St. Lawrence University Libraries borrowers card may also use our interlibrary loan services.

Students, faculty, and staff who are with 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 system or our ILLiad system. 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.

Electronic 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 should be directed to him. SLU Community members who have concerns about interlibrary loan services should contact Paul, who can be reached at 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 universities in New York State, that includes and is integrated into our own ODYsseus catalog. Requests for books that can be fulfilled through Connect NY arrive in three to four 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 cannot by met by Connect NY, and requests for all other materials. ILLiad is linked from several places on the SLU Libraries' web presence, notably the Interlibrary Loan page. Library users will need to open an ILLiad account, but that has to be done only once. Requests for materials made through ILLiad generally take roughly a week to ten days.

A few other notes about ILLiad and interlibrary loan--ILLiad is the system to use for article requests. When requests for articles are filled electronically the articles are accessed from one's ILLiad account. Whether you get an article electronically or in hard copy, the article is yours to keep. Requests for any kind of material can be made, however, it should be noted that not all libraries lend videos and DVD's. Likewise dissertations and books that are not widely held in libraries are sometimes not available, and, if available, can take considerably longer than the ten day time frame to arrive on campus.

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. Simply use the appropriate ILLiad form (use a free text request for microfilm), and when making the request be sure to designate CRL requests as such.

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 they need articles in a time frame not supported by traditional interlibrary loan can contact either Electronic Services Librarian 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.

Can I Lose My Interlibrary Loan Privileges?

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 (SLU) 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.