Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Borrowing Policies

What is Interlibrary Loan? Interlibrary Loan is a network of local, state, and national libraries that share resources (primarily books, PDFs, and photocopies) by lending and borrowing with each other. MCC Libraries processes these requests by a computer that is connected online to several libraries. Conditions of this service are governed by the National Interlibrary Loan Code and the Copyright Law, Title 17, U.S. Code.

How long must I wait for the materials? If the material is available locally (Monroe County area), it generally takes 3 to 5 days. However, if the material is available only outside the Monroe County area, it may take up to 3 weeks to arrive. An article usually arrives faster than a book.

How much will it cost? Usually there is no charge for the material obtained through ILL. If the material is of a medical or legal nature, the lending library may charge a fee. Please note if you are willing to pay a charge for your item. The charge is usually $8 to $15 for each book or photocopy.

What kinds of material may I borrow? Books and photocopies of magazine articles are the most common materials borrowed from other libraries. Foreign language materials may be borrowed, but please note if you want a non-English item.

What materials will I not be able to borrow? Items owned by the MCC Libraries that are not lost cannot be requested. Reference books, textbooks, books published this year, videotapes, cassettes, CDs, DVDs, dissertations, entire issues or volumes of journals, rare books and theses are usually NOT loaned by other libraries.

Videotapes are not loaned by the Monroe County Library System through ILL.

The University of Rochester Libraries do NOT loan to undergraduate students.

How many items may I borrow on Interlibrary Loan? Up to 5 requests a day may be processed. If you have more than 5 requests, please prioritize your requests, and we will process them as soon as possible.

What happens if my Interlibrary Loan materials are returned late? Please return books to the Circulation/Reserve Desk on or before the date due. It is important to return books promptly so that we can continue our good relations with lending libraries. Failure to observe due dates will suspend your borrowing privileges for all library materials.  If items are overdue for 30 calendar days, the borrower’s ILL will be suspended indefinitely.

How long may I keep the borrowed book? The lending library will notify us of the date due. The due date will be listed on the cover slip of the book when you check it out. If you want to renew a book, please request a renewal within 3 days of your date due through your ILLiad account. Renewals are entirely at the discretion of the lending library and cannot be guaranteed.