Interlibrary Loan (ILL) User's Guide

For the purpose of verification, it is necessary for ILLiad to have accurate User Statuses. Please select one of the following status when creating your user profile in ILLiad:

Undergrad - Students enrolled in undergrad level class work.

Grad - Any graduate student enrolled in Post-Baccalaureate class work.

Staff - any employee engaged in the support of education and University operations. 

Faculty - Any employee engaged in traditional teaching and research duties. Please see our page on Faculty-Specific Services. https://shsulibraryguides.org/ill/faculty

Consultant - this section is reserved for non-traditional University employees such as COM Preceptors, grant administrators, and state/federal employees stationed at Sam Houston State University. Consultants may be asked to provide additional verification of University affiliation and my be limited in their ability to order material. 

Executive - University administrators such as Executive Director of the Library, the President of the University, and Provost. Anyone with a E employee class.

LEMIT - For employees and students in the LEMIT program.

LIBRARY GROUP USE - library use only/

RETIRED - retired faculty and library staff may continue to use Interlibrary Loan after retirement. ILL services may not be free for retiree use and their requests may be assigned lower priority during busy work periods. 

NGL Responsible Participation in Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Policy

Purpose

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) services are based upon courtesy agreements between libraries. Irresponsible behavior by an SHSU patron may damage the SHSU library’s relationship with its ILL partners, resulting in a loss of ILL services for all SHSU users. Therefore, every SHSU user is expected to participate responsibly in ILL. Expectations of responsible ILL participation include appropriate and professional treatment of SHSU personnel, careful and respectful treatment of borrowed materials, and attentiveness to policies. This policy outlines examples of behaviors that violate responsible ILL participation and the escalating penalties that users may face.

Violations may include, but are not necessarily limited to:

• Severely overdue materials
• Loss of materials
• Damage to materials (example: food/drink stains, dog chewing, torn out pages, and so forth)
• Contacting other institutions’ ILL departments, especially in a manner that is harassing, accusatory, and/or unprofessional
• Offensive or abusive behavior towards library personnel, whether verbally or in writing

Penalties may include:

• First violation: Written warning that this behavior is a problem, and if problems continue, ILL services will be restricted.
• Second violation: Patron limited to in-house use of ILL materials for one semester

After a patron resumes full borrowing privileges following in-house limitation, subsequent violations may result in:

• First violation following reinstatement: Suspended from ILL services for one semester
• Second violation following reinstatement: Suspended from ILL services for one academic year
• In less severe cases, staff may opt to renew in-house limitations rather than moving to suspension.

In extraordinary cases of particularly egregious behavior, penalties may escalate more sharply with the approval of the Access & Interlibrary Services Coordinator.

• First violation: Written warning that this behavior will not be tolerated, and if problems continue, ILL services will no longer be provided.
• Second violation: Suspended from ILL services for one semester
• Third violation: Suspended from ILL services for one academic year

After a patron resumes full borrowing privileges following a temporary suspension, continued violations of sufficient severity may warrant additional bans, longer bans, or permanent bans from Interlibrary Loan services. Such situations will be judged on a case by case basis by the Access & Interlibrary Services Coordinator, to whom patrons may also appeal suspensions or bans.

Treating ILL Material with Care

ILL users are expected to treat all ILL material with care. ILL items should be returned to ILL in the same condition in which they arrived and with all of it’s original contents and paperwork.

• Protect borrowed materials from rain, dampness, sun, heat, pets, and smoking and tobacco products.

• Handle books carefully, especially when photocopying and scanning.

• Mark your place with a bookmark; do not bend corners of pages or use tape, Post-It notes, paper clips, or other objects.

• Take notes rather than using highlighters, underlining, or writing in the margins of books and periodicals.

• Avoid eating snacks and drinking beverages while handling or working around ILL materials.

• Do not remove plastic bands unless absolutely necessary and re-band the item before returning the item to ILL.

• Take care when transporting item so that they are not damaged, stained, or bent.

• Return items such as CD’s, DVD’s, etc. in their case.

• When returning the item please return to a designated area and not in the book-drops. If returning the item via the mail, please ship it in a package or box with protective material.

Please notify ILL staff if you discover any damage or missing contents.

For additional information about care and handling of library materials:

https://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/books.html

WARNING CONCERNING COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research". If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use", that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

Note: If you wish to make a reading available for an entire class, please see our procedures for placing materials on Reserve instead, to ensure the necessary copyright considerations are taken for this use.

Our most common form of communication is via form emails generated by ILLiad. Please save lib_ill@shsu.edu into your address book to make sure you do not miss our emails.

• Please feel free to reply to any email we send and ask questions.
• If you haven't seen any emails from us, please check your Junk Mail folder.

PICKUP AND DELIVERY

Users may have the following options for pickup and delivery of ILL materials. ILLiad Users will need to set their Delivery Location on their ILLiad User Profile to receive these services. It is the responsibility of the ILLiad User to keep this information up to date and accurate. 

• ILL Office - pick up from the ILL Office Monday - Friday 8am to 5pm or from Copy Services. Copy Services opens when the library opens and closes 30 minutes before the library closes. Library hours can be viewed here: https://library.shsu.edu/about/hours.html
• Curbside Pick-up - ILL items may be placed at the first-floor help desk at the library. 
• Campus-Box (SHSU employees) - Any SHSU employee may have their items delivered via Inter-Campus Mail to their department. This service may take 3-5 days for delivery. 
• Faculty-Direct - ILL items will be delivered within 24-48 hours of being received directly to the faculty members office or department office. To see more on faculty specific offerings please visit Faculty-Specific Services page: https://shsulibraryguides.org/ill/faculty
• Home Address - Delivery by USPS mail to the home address specified in your ILLiad user profile. This service is limited to students, faculty, and staff who do not work, teach, or attend classes on the main SHSU Campus in Huntsville nor live in Huntsville. Please see our Distance-Learning Services Page: https://shsulibraryguides.org/ill/distance

Not all of these options will be available for every user on every request.

RETURNS

DO NOT return ILL materials to the SHSU library book drops. You will be financially responsible for any damage to ILL materials placed in book drops.

ILL materials can be returned to the ILS Office or the Copy Room. Please do not return ILL items to the service desk or help desk.

ILL materials may also be returned to the library services desk in the computer lab (room 315) at SHSU-The Woodlands Center Monday-Friday 8a-5p.

You may drop off a package, labeled with the library address below, at KatPost on Sam Houston Avenue, and it will be delivered via Campus Mail (no cost).

You may mail books back to the library via USPS library book rate with tracking using the address below. (Please write "Campus Box", NOT PO Box)

Interlibrary Services
Newton Gresham Library
Sam Houston State University
Campus Box 2179
Huntsville, TX 77341

Library material is not considered returned until it has been received and processed by ILL staff in the ILL office. ILLiad Users are financially responsible for items lost or damaged in the mail. Items mailed will retroactively be considered returned on the date of the post stamp.  If you suspect your package has been lost in the mail, please contact the ILL office as soon as possible. 

REQUEST LIMITS

Individuals are limited to 5 requests per business day. If more than 5 requests are placed in a day, staff will process the first 5 and then set the others aside until requests from other users are complete.

Scans cannot be longer than 1 article, 1 chapter, or a single 50-page section of a book and may not exceed copyright standards set by the publication or, in lieu thereof, current institutional copyright policies. Although ILL routinely provides pdfs of articles and/or scans, we cannot guarantee that all requests will be in pdf format. We are also not able to provide pdfs of items in our electronic collections that are full-text access/online access only.  ILL can make exceptions for ADA accommodations on a case-by-case basis. Please contact ILL to verify specific accommodation needs.

BORROWING LIMITS

Currently Interlibrary Services does not impose a limit on the number of items which may be borrowed at one time.

Requests may be cancelled for various reasons, such as:

• The material is freely available online
• The material is available through the library's electronic resources
• The material is not available from another library (temporarily or permanently)
• The material does not meet Copy Right. 
• The citation cannot be verified

Interlibrary Services staff will, as appropriate, add clarifying notes to the cancellation notice template to direct patrons to an existing access point, recommend requesting again at a later date, or suggest double-checking an unverified citation.

Cancellation for an unverified citation indicates that Interlibrary Services staff were unable to clearly locate an item through typical channels after investing a reasonable amount of time and effort. This should not be interpreted as an assertion that an item does not exist.

DUE DATES

Due dates are set by the lending library and cannot be changed by Newton Gresham Library Interlibrary Services staff.

RENEWALS

If you need an extension of time, you are permitted to request a renewal at least 2 weeks to 48 hours before the due date:

• Log into your ILLiad account. Go to Checked Out Items, click on the Item's Transaction Number, and then click on Renew Book (written in red at top left-hand corner of the record).
• Follow this procedure for each item you wish to renew.
• You will receive a two-week extension, but the due date will ultimately be up to the Lending Library. If the Lending Library replies with a different due date, we will email you with that information.

BORROWING FEES

Borrowing fees may be assessed as needed for requests meeting certain specialization criteria. Borrowing fees are set by the lending library. Fees may vary by library and by specific item, and costs generally run in the $5 - $20 range. Users always have the opportunity to agree to costs before an order is completed.

OVERDUE FEES

Overdue books accrue late fines of $3.00 per item per day. There is a two-day grace period in which overdue books can be returned without a fine: If a book is returned on...

• Date due + 1 : Grace Day, no fine charged
• Date due + 2 : Grace Day, no fine charged
• Date due + 3 : Fines for all three days (A+B+C) will be charged.

For example, an item due on the 10th of the month could be returned on the 11th or 12th of the month without penalty. However, if the item is returned on the 13th of the month, fines for all three days (11th, 12th, and 13th) would be assessed. Fines will then continue to accrue each day.

Although SHSU faculty are exempt from most standard overdue fines on SHSU material, they are responsible for paying overdue fines on ILL materials.

LOST OR DAMAGED ITEMS

Fees for lost items or damaged books will be determined by the lending library based on their policies and procedures and may not reflect the market value of item lost. SHSU users are responsible for the cost of damaged items and lost items.

• SHSU ILL will cover the cost of items lost or damaged in the mail between Newton Gresham Library and the Lending library.
• SHSU will not cover the cost of items lost or damaged in the mail between Newton Gresham Library and SHSU users (Distance Ed / Document Delivery Service users).

Late fines are separate from damaged books fees, and one does not preclude the other. If an item is both late and damaged, late fines and damage fees will both be assessed.

TEMPORARY SUSPENSION of Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Accounts for Overdue Bills

When an ILL bill is unpaid for 30 or more days, the user’s accounts in ILLiad and Sirsi will be temporarily blocked from both ILL and local borrowing until the bill is paid. (Bills may include any combination of overdue fines, damaged material fines, or lost item replacement costs.)

Click on the "Blocks for Overdue Items/Bills" tab above for more explanation of this policy.

The purpose of Authorized users is to allow another trusted person to pick-up items on behalf of a ILL user. Authorized Users may not make changes nor fully access an ILL user's ILLiad account. ILL Users should not be sharing their ILLiad password or login information with an Authorized User. 

An ILL User may add up to 5 authorized users to their account, for example, a family member or a graduate student assistant.

Authorized users may be updated online whenever necessary, but a user must be listed in the account to be allowed to pick up items on behalf of the ILL User.

Authorized users will need to present their own Bearkat ID at time of pick-up. An exception can be made to allow family members to use their gov. ID. Please contact the ILL Manager before the first pick-up to request this exception and confirm the type of ID being used. The ILL Manager can be reached at 936/294-1616 or lib_ill@shsu.edu

Retired SHSU faculty/staff maintain access to interlibrary loan, subject to the following policy:

1. Retirees are responsible for the borrowing costs of their items, if applicable, and will need to pay at time of pick-up.
   1. The Interlibrary Services Office will order from free lenders before seeking items from cost-to-borrow lenders.
   2. The Interlibrary Services Office will contact the patron before ordering an item with cost and agree to a maximum amount.
   3. Retirees will be charged based on the agreed-upon fee at time of order.
2. Retirees can lose ILL privileges for overdue items, late fines exceeding $100, or irresponsible ILL use. (for example, loss of books)
3. Retirees are not eligible for Document Delivery. ILL will not scan or pull items from our collection.
4. Retirees are not eligible for Campus Box delivery, Faculty Direct, or Home Delivery.
5. Retirees are subject to all policies and procedures set in place for all ILL users.
6. It is the responsibility of the retiree to maintain their user account with IT@Sam and place their requests via ILLiad. The Interlibrary Services Office cannot accept requests via phone or email.

SUMMER ILL USE:

ILL is happy to provide summer ILL use to faculty, staff, and students.

Students must be enrolled in classes, working for SHSU, or have applied for a summer extension of privileges. The form may be found here: https://shsulibraryguides.org/servicehowto/summercard

Faculty may change their delivery location to “home delivery” during the summer if they are not teaching on campus and they do not live in Huntsville, TX. Please make sure to update your personal information in ILLiad to the address where you wish to receive packages. Please refer to our “Pickup, Delivery, & Returns” tab under ILL Polices for SHSU Users page: https://shsulibraryguides.org/ill/policies

Temporary Suspension of Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Accounts for Overdue Items or Bills

Purpose

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) services are based upon courtesy agreements between libraries. Overdue items negatively impact this courtesy relationship. Furthermore, when a borrowed item accrues a bill from the lending library, NGL must pay it in order to maintain effective working relationships with these institutions. When patrons allow significant bills to go unpaid, failing to reimburse NGL for the costs already paid to the borrowing library, this creates an unsustainable financial situation. Therefore it is in the best interests of NGL and all of its Interlibrary Loan patrons to have a policy for temporarily suspending an individual’s borrowing privileges until overdue items are returned or overdue bills are paid.

Policy

• When an ILL item is overdue by 14 or more days, the user’s accounts in ILLiad and Sirsi will be temporarily blocked from both ILL and local borrowing until the item is returned. If the Lending Library has not issued a bill for the lost item within six months of the due date, SHSU will issue a standard lost ILL fee of $50 to be paid by the user. If the Lending Library bills after 6 months, the user will not be responsible for the difference if they have already paid the $50 lost ILL fee. If the user has not paid the $50 lost ILL fee by the time an invoice is received, the $50 lost ILL fee will be removed from their account and replaced with the full cost of the invoice.
• When an ILL item is returned missing parts, users will be given 14 days to return the item. After 14 days if the item is not returned the user's accounts in ILLiad and Sirsi will be temporarily blocked from both ILL and local borrowing until the item is returned or a bill is issued by the Lending Library. 
• When an ILL bill is unpaid for 30 or more days, the user’s accounts in ILLiad and Sirsi will be temporarily blocked from both ILL and local borrowing until the bill is paid. (Bills may include any combination of overdue fines, damaged material fines, or lost item replacement costs.)

NEWTON GRESHAM LIBRARY FACULTY & STAFF ILL POLICY:

1. 1. 1. NGL faculty & staff do not qualify for faculty direct services. Requests for scans from the collection by NGL employees will be considered low priority and will be completed as student workers are available.
         • Exceptions will be made for faculty & staff assigned to work at remote locations such as The Woodlands Center or College of Osteopathic Medicine.
      2. NGL faculty & staff may request home delivery if their position with the library is permanently remote and they meet all other requirements for home delivery. Exceptions will be made for employees who need reasonable accommodations in regard to disability or extended leaves. (i.e. ADA accommodation requests or FMLA leave.)  
      3. NGL faculty & staff should not submit ILL requests in lieu of error reports to Tech Services when requesting items from library held electronic resource. 
      4. NGL faculty & staff will follow the same policy in regards to late, recalled, and lost items as other ILL users.