Interlibrary Loan Services
Overview of Services
Items not in the Amherst College Library collection and not available through the Five College Delivery (FCD) service, can be obtained through InterLibrary Loan (ILL). ILL is a special service that relies heavily on a network of faith, goodwill and the library community's commitment to sharing. Amherst College Library's ability to borrow from other institutions across the country and the world depends on how careful each and every Amherst patron is with the materials they receive and the prompt return of all items borrowed.
Who's Eligible
All currently enrolled students, faculty and staff of Amherst College are welcome to make use of this service. Students who are Faculty Research Assistants are also eligible to set up proxy borrowing on behalf of their faculty member.
Delivery
Photocopies will be mailed (or scanned copies will be emailed) to your campus address. Books and other materials will be held at the Frost circulation desk. Notification of arrival will be by email.
Materials Available
Books, journal articles, dissertations, government documents, microfilms, photocopies of non-circulating items, musical scores, items marked as missing or lost from the Amherst College collection.
Materials Not Available
Items available via the 5 college delivery service should be ordered through the Library Catalog. If the only copy of a book in the 5-College catalog is circulating, patrons should place a recall request directly online through the catalog. Other items not generally available for ILL include course reserve materials; videotapes or compact discs, and items that are rare, valuable or too fragile to be subjected to postal delivery. Videos or DVDs at one of the other Five Colleges may be requested by AC borrowers through the Video Request Form.
How Long Will It Take?
Turnaround time varies. Photocopies from one of the other 5 College libraries could arrive within 5 days. Items borrowed from outside of the consortium might take up to two weeks. Add a few days during peak times of the semester. If the request passes through several libraries before a lender is found, it can take even longer. Plan ahead and allow 2 weeks for ILL requests to be filled.
Special Restrictions
Amherst College is also obligated to honor any special restrictions that the lender imposes such as in-library use only, no photocopying, no renewals, written permission of the dissertation or theses writer required before the item is made available. In all cases, the restrictions or the due dates will be clearly indicated on the paperwork that accompanies the item.
Overdue Fines and Replacement Charges....
On occasion, items are recalled. Patrons will be notified by email or by phone. Failure to return requested items in good time can result in overdue fines and restrictions of ILL useage. If your book is recalled and you are not finished, please contact the ILL Department immediately. We will make every effort to locate another copy.
As per traditional library practices, damaged or lost items will be billed based on the requirements of the lending institution.
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