Borrowing Policies
Making Requests
Place your requests using the secure online document request form. Requests placed by 3:00 p.m. Monday-Friday are usually processed the same day.
If a Purdue Libraries book that you need is currently checked out, place an interlibrary loan request for it and we will borrow it from another library.
Local Holdings
Library staff will check requests against library holdings and will take these actions:
If the item is available locally:
Students
- Books or chapters/articles: You will receive an email with location and call number information.
- Exception: chapters/articles in the Hicks Repository will be scanned and delivered to you electronically.
Faculty/Staff
- Book: The item(s) will be delivered to your West Lafayette campus address.
- Chapters/Articles: The item(s) will be scanned and delivered to you electronically.
If the catalog shows the item(s) as checked out or missing (and there are no other copies on Reserve or Reference):
- Use the Request from Interlibrary Loan link in the catalog.
Interlibrary loan books usually arrive within 4-6 business days.
NOTE: if you prefer to recall the Purdue copy, please:
- Ask a staff member at any circulation desk to place a recall for you, OR
- Use the "Request from Interlibrary Loan" feature and add PLEASE RECALL in the notes field.
Please allow at least 10 days for the Purdue copy to be available for your use.
Turnaround Time
Turnaround time depends on many variables. Here is current turnaround time information for items requested through interlibrary loan. (Delivery of locally-owned items defer. See Document Delivery page for service and eligibility details.)
Photocopies Book Loans Filled within 5 days 64% 38% Filled within 10 days 87%
81%Filled within 15 days 97% 96%
Quantity of Requests
A user may submit as many requests as necessary. However, large numbers of requests from a single user may not all be handled at the same time.
Office Hours
Interlibrary Loan office’s current hours are listed on our website at: http://www.lib.purdue.edu/access/ill/.
Notification/Pick-Up
Loans Photocopies Faculty/Staff Mailed to campus address Most photocopies will be posted to a web server for you to view and print. When your article is ready, you will receive an email message with instructions for accessing it. Graduate Students Held at the Interlibrary Loan Office in the HSSE Library. You will be notified when your items are available Undergraduate Students Exceptions: There are occasional exceptions to the method or place of delivery, such as cases in which the lending library has designated a piece as "library use only." ILL staff will alert users in these instances.
Due Dates for Book Loans
To avoid penalties, please return loans by the date indicated on the book band. Return ILL books to the drop box near the ILL Desk (HSSE Library, 2nd floor).
Renewals for Book Loans
Renewals are often possible. Please place your renewal request online at least 3 days before an item is due. Online renewals cannot be placed on or after the due date. If the item is overdue, you will need to contact the ILL office at 494-2803.
To request a renewal online, logon at the ILL WebSite (or click ILL Logon now). Once you are logged on, scroll down and click on the button "View/Renew Checked Out Items", highlight the item you wish to renew and click "Request renewal".
ILL staff will confirm the new due date by email usually a few days later when we have heard back from the lending library.
Penalties
ILL staff notify users of overdue material. Failure to return ILL material on time, or to respond to a recall notice in a timely manner, may result in the loss of ILL and/or library privileges, and may also incur charges to cover the cost of the material plus overdue and/or processing fees.
Copyright Compliance
The Interlibrary Loan office complies with the U.S. copyright law and reserves the right to refuse a copying order if, in the staff's judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law.
Cost
The Libraries absorb the costs of most ILL transactions. In those rare cases when there would be a cost passed on to the requester, we will ask for your authorization in advance.