Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services

Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services (also known as Resource Sharing) support all research needs by expanding the range of available materials and providing access to them.  Materials not owned by the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ University Libraries may be obtained from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Materials held by the Libraries can be delivered to your preferred library location through Document Delivery. You can request an item through Document Delivery Services via

If a material cannot be fulfilled locally through Document Delivery, we will automatically try to source it through ILL. 

Required textbooks for Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ University Courses cannot be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan. Instead, visit the Libraries' to see if your textbook is available. 

We cannot obtain full eBooks through Interlibrary Loan, due to licensing restrictions.

If you plan on requesting more than 25 items in one week's time, please contact the Interlibrary Loan Department and/or your subject librarian.

Who May Borrow

Current Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ University faculty, students, staff, and research associates are eligible. If you are not affiliated with Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ University, and would like to borrow materials, please contact your local public library to submit a formal ILL request. Alumni do not have access to ILL services. 

You must have a valid Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ University ID and a University email account (@binghamton.edu) in order to log in.

Delivery

Physical ILL materials typically take one to two weeks to arrive; electronic materials (articles, book chapters, etc.) may take a week to arrive. Special formats or unique titles may take longer. Document Delivery materials typically arrive within 2-3 business days. If you want an update on a request’s status, please email our office at mainill@binghamton.edu.   

You will receive an email when your materials are available to be picked up. ILL and Document Delivery materials cannot be shipped to residences or offices.

  • ILL materials not picked up by their due date will be returned to the lending institution.
  • Document Delivery requests not picked up 10 business days after notification will be returned to the shelf. 
  • PDF's delivered to your ILLiad account will be available for 30 days. 

While we pride ourselves in the quality and speed of our service, several variables can cause delays in request delivery:

  • High request volume, often seen during the beginning of semesters
  • Shipping issues between lenders
  • Citation issues
  • Availability among lenders. We encourage patrons to review holdings on

Loan Periods and Renewals

The lending library determines loan lengths and restrictions on the use of materials. Typically, loan lengths range from 4 to 16 weeks. 

You may request a renewal in-person or online via your library account, unless the material is indicated as non-renewable. Renewals are at the discretion of the lending library; if a renewal is denied, you will receive an email along with a one-week courtesy extension from the date of notification.

Library Use Only

Some materials may come with Library Use Only (LUO) restrictions. LUO materials are rare or fragile materials lent to us by other institutions, and may only be used in the Bartle Library. These restrictions are determined by the lender and cannot be changed. 

If an item has LUO restrictions, our office will contact you through email with further information before obtaining the material.

Please note that both microforms and vinyl records always have LUO restrictions. 

Note: Some requests may be limited to Special Collections use only on top of these restrictions.

Limitations

The following cannot be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan: 

  • eBooks 
  • Textbooks required for a Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ University course

We may have difficulties or be unable to borrow the following materials: 

  • Textbooks (not required for a Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ University course) 
  • Popular titles
  • New materials
  • Test preparation materials
  • Software
  • Reference books or whole journal issues
  • Audio/Visual (including DVD's and CD's)
  • Rare books and dissertations

The Libraries must comply with U.S. Copyright Law and publisher licenses. After more than five articles from a journal published within the last five years are requested, additional copyright fees may apply.

Covered and Additional Costs

In general, it is free for Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ University patrons to place ILL requests. Less than 1% of all ILL requests require some form of payment from the patron. 

Costs may be assessed by the lending library or through copyright royalties. The Libraries will pay up to $30.00 per request. Patrons will be contacted if the fee exceeds this amount. If a patron agrees to pay a fee, it will be added to their QuikPay account once the material is available.

Borrowing Libraries / External Borrowers

The Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ University Libraries lends materials to other libraries. Please submit all requests through OCLC.

If your ILL office doesn't participate in ILL through OCLC,  please email us at mainill@binghamton.edu so we may create an account for you.  Please include the following: 

  • Library name
  • Shipping/billing address
  • Odyssey address (if applicable)
  • Name, phone number, and email for your contact person.

Individuals interested in borrowing materials from our collection must place a formal request through their college/university library, or, through their local public library.