Bethel Library: Guidelines and Procedures

Interlibrary Lending Procedure

Bethel University Library uses OCLC for interlibrary loan processing and lends materials to other libraries without charge. 

Interlibrary loan privileges are for current students, faculty, and staff only. There are not any interlibrary loan privileges for alumni or community patrons.

The following materials may be circulated for interlibrary loan use:

• Books (excluding fragile and irreplaceable materials and the Log Cabin yearbooks) 
• Photocopies or scanned .pdf downloads of periodical and newspaper articles (within U.S. Copyright Law guidelines)

Loan period to borrowing libraries

• Materials will be loaned to other libraries for six weeks (42 days)
• No renewal of materials will be made without the permission of the Librarian.
• Depending upon the condition and format, some items may be restricted to “In-Library Use Only.”
• The Bethel University Library reserves the right to recall any item and that it is needed by our patrons for research.

Processing of Interlibrary Loans

• ILL requests are processed M-Thurs. Please allow 5-7 business days for processing.
• Interlibrary loan books will normally be shipped via the U.S. Postal Service.

Fees

• No fees are charged for borrowing books or other returnable materials.
• No fees are charged for photocopies of periodicals and newspaper articles.

 Overdue Materials

• When an item has been overdue for 1 month, it will be recalled from the borrowing library.
• If an interlibrary loan material has been damaged or lost, a bill is sent to the borrowing library requesting payment.

Interlibrary Borrowing

This service is offered to currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff of Bethel University. The intent of this service is to both foster academic research and also to support professional development within the faculty. For research leading to a degree from another institution, patrons should forward their interlibrary loan requests to the degree-awarding institution.

Students from Bethel University’s satellite campuses have the same borrowing rights and privileges as traditional, on-campus students and are encouraged to use the interlibrary loan service to supplement their academic pursuits. Students in the College of Professional Studies should contact the current librarian for their college to place interlibrary loan requests.

All other patrons not currently affiliated with Bethel University (i.e. community borrowers, alumni, ministers, etc.) should direct their interlibrary loan requests to their local public library. Community borrowers, et al., are asked to use their local public library.

Loan Materials

The following materials are usually available for interlibrary loan:

• Books
• Photocopies of periodical and newspaper articles 
• Downloads of .pdf copies of journal articles

Most libraries do not ordinarily lend the following materials:

• Rare or valuable material (i.e. materials from special collections, manuscripts, etc.)
• Bulky or fragile items that are either difficult or expensive to ship
• The material is in high demand at the lending library (i.e. bestsellers, recently published items, etc.)
• CD’s, DVD’s, or audiobooks

The following materials will not be borrowed by the Bethel University Library:

• Items already owned by the Bethel University Library
• Materials for classes (i.e. textbooks or items placed on course reserves)
• Any materials that the library determines to violate copyright laws
• Leisure books (i.e. best sellers) or materials that will not be used for academic purposes

Borrower’s Responsibilities

• Each patron who wishes to request an item for an interlibrary loan is responsible for checking the holdings of the Bethel University Library (e.g. ebooks, databases, and physical collection) before submitting a request for an interlibrary loan.
• Each patron must submit electronic requests for interlibrary loans via Bethel University Library’s “Interlibrary Loan Form” found on the “Borrow from Other Libraries” tab of the library’s website. When filling out an electronic request, patrons should include complete bibliographic information. Incomplete request forms or requests for items already held in the library’s collection will be returned.
• Library patrons may have no more than a total of five (5) library items (including interlibrary loan items) checked out at any one time. As materials are returned to the library, additional interlibrary loan requests will be processed.
• Each borrower must strictly observe due dates on any interlibrary loan item and is responsible for turning in the borrowed material either prior to or on the due date provided.

Loan Period

• The loan period of interlibrary loan items is strictly determined by the lending library but is usually at least two weeks long.
• Renewal periods for interlibrary loan items are generally rare. However, Bethel University Library patrons who wish to renew an interlibrary loan item must notify the librarian in charge of loans at least three days before the stated due date of the item. The librarian in charge of loans will then let the patron know via email whether or not a renewal was granted.

Overdue Items

• To maintain good working relationships with lending libraries, the Bethel University Library strictly observes loan periods and use restrictions for interlibrary loan items.
• Any patron who fails to return a total of three (3) interlibrary loan items by the specified due date will have his or her interlibrary loan privileges suspended indefinitely at the discretion of the librarian in charge of the interlibrary loans.
• A fee of $2.00 per day is assigned to each overdue interlibrary loan item until the item is returned to the Bethel University Library. Additionally, if any interlibrary loan item remains overdue for seven (7) or more working days, a nonrefundable fee of $10.00 will be assessed to the patron’s library account in addition to the daily late fees that have been accumulated to that point.
• If an interlibrary loan item is lost or damaged, a replacement fee (to be determined by the lending library) will be charged to the patron’s library account.

Turnaround Time

*Note: ILL requests are processed M-Thurs. Please allow 5-7 business days for processing.

When requesting interlibrary loan items, it is important to factor in extra time for the request, processing, and shipping time. Although interlibrary loan requests are processed as quickly as possible, it takes approximately 7 to 10 business days or longer to receive a requested item. This time can vary based on the difficulty of the request, the proximity of the lending library to the Bethel University Library, and the total amount of requests to be processed. Each patron should be sure to allow enough time to receive and read interlibrary loan items when planning research.