Interlibrary Loan at CMRLS

Have you ever searched CW MARS for an item your patron wanted but it wasn’t there? You don’t have to tell your patron you can’t get it. Let CMRLS get it for you!

CMRLS locates items you have not been able to find locally by using statewide (Virtual Catalog) and national and international resources (OCLC).
Any costs for these items are paid for by CMRLS.

To show this service to patrons, slip a "This Item Traveled Miles" bookmark into their items when they check out.

Requesting materials is a breeze ... just fill out a form and give us all the details. We’ll do the rest.

CMRLS Interlibrary Loan Policy

I. INTRODUCTION

Interlibrary loan (ILL) is essential to the vitality of libraries of all types and sizes as a means of greatly expanding the range of materials available to users. Lending between libraries is in the user's interest and should be encouraged. The following policy and guidelines are as liberal and easy to use as possible. Interlibrary loan transactions are subject to the restrictions of the lending library. Interlibrary loan should serve as an adjunct to, not a substitute for, collection development. When resources within CMRLS and the state have been exhausted, loan requests to more distant libraries must conform to the provisions of the Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States.

II. DEFINITION

An interlibrary loan is a transaction in which library material, or a copy of the material, is made available by one library to another upon request for the exclusive use of an individual.

III. PURPOSE

The purpose of interlibrary loan is to obtain materials not available in the local library.

IV. SCOPE

1. All CMRLS member libraries participating in the CMRLS ILL system will agree to lend materials through interlibrary loan to other CMRLS member libraries free of charge.

2. Each member library establishes policies for the use of its collection. This policy will include guidelines on which materials may be borrowed. These decisions may be determined by the nature of the material, its physical condition, local demand for the item or any other applicable local restrictions.

V. RESPONSIBILITY OF BORROWING LIBRARIES

1. Each library should provide the resources to meet the ordinary needs and interests of its primary clientele. Material requested from another library should be limited to those items that do not conform to the library's collection development policy or for which there is no recurring demand.

2. Borrowing libraries should make every effort to exhaust their own resources before resorting to interlibrary loan.

3. The staff responsible for interlibrary loan should be familiar with ILL forms and must comply with guidelines for borrowing and returning materials set by the lending library.

4. Each library should inform its users of the purpose of interlibrary loan and of the library's interlibrary borrowing policy. Any member of the borrowing library's primary clientele should be eligible for interlibrary loan.

5. The borrowing library is responsible for compliance with the Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) and its accompanying guidelines, and should inform its users of the applicable portions of the law.

6. Requests should be routed through channels established by libraries participating in this agreement. These channels are outlined in the CMRLS Interlibrary Loan Guidelines.

7. The borrowing library is responsible for returning loans on time and in good condition. Charges resulting from overdue loans or damaged/lost items are the responsibility of the borrowing library.

8. The borrowing library should encourage library users to travel to other libraries for on-site access to materials when extensive use of a collection is required or the nature of the materials requires special handling. The borrowing library should assist the user in making the necessary arrangements.

VI. RESPONSIBILITIES OF LENDING LIBRARIES

1. The privilege of lending materials rests with the lending library. Each library is encouraged, however, to interpret as generously as possible its own lending policy with due consideration to the interests of its primary clientele.

2. A statement of ILL policy should be made available upon request and must be on file at the CMRLS Office.

3. The lending library should process requests promptly! Conditions of loan should be stated clearly and material labeled and packaged carefully for delivery. The lending library should notify the borrowing library when unable to fill a request, stating the reason for not filling it.

4. The lending library is responsible for keeping statistics on "net" lending (i.e. the number of materials loaned in excess of the number of materials borrowed) both within the Central Region and statewide. The Central Region statistics may be submitted to the CMRLS and statewide statistics to the MA Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) for net lending reimbursement. The amount of reimbursement will vary depending on the total number of net loans and available funding.

VII. EXPENSES

1. ILL service will be free among CMRLS members.

2. CMRLS will pay charges incurred in mediated interlibrary loans from non-member libraries.

3. Libraries may charge for photocopying materials to fill an interlibrary loan request. Libraries that do charge such fees should reflect this in their policy statements.

VIII. DURATION OF LOAN

1. The duration of loan is specified by the lending library and is the period of time the item may remain with the borrowing library plus the time spent in transit.

2. Interlibrary loan materials should be returned to the lending library on or before the due date.

3. Interlibrary loan materials may not be renewed.

IX. HIERARCHY OF REQUESTS

It is recommended that within immediate geographic regions, public libraries should request interlibrary loans from public libraries, school libraries from school libraries, etc. If the item is not available, then public libraries may request from academic libraries within the geographic region and vice versa. If the item is not available on the C/W MARS network, the borrowing library may either submit the request to the CMRLS ILL Office or send an American Library Association (ALA) form directly to the identified lending library.

X. VIOLATION OF THE ILL POLICY

Interlibrary loan is a privilege, not a right. Each library is responsible for maintaining the provisions of this ILL policy in good faith. Continued disregard of any provision of the policy is sufficient reason for suspension of borrowing privileges after prior warning. The lending library may suspend borrowing privileges to a library that violates the provisions of this policy.

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CONTACT

Jackie Belisle, ILL Requests, 508-757-4110 x310

Margaret Cardello, Regional Consultant, 508-757-4110 x 306.

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