Email: illdept@bucknell.edu
Phone: 570-577-3115
Hours: 9am-5:30pm M-F
Any current Bucknell University student, faculty, or staff member may request an item through ILL. Requests may be placed directly in the patron’s ILLiad account or by using the “Get It” button in Bertrand’s catalog.
Alumni, community borrowers, retired faculty and staff, and members of the Bucknell Institute of Lifelong Learning are not eligible to borrow through ILL.
Interlibrary loan services are free of charge to all Bucknell students, faculty, and staff.
There is no set limit on the number of ILL requests a patron can place.
Once a physical item has been received by ILL staff, an email will be sent to the patron notifying them that the item is ready to pick up. All physical items borrowed through ILL will be placed on the hold shelf behind the circulation desk in Bertrand Library. Patrons must come into the library and show their Bucknell ID in order to pick up their items. If a patron is unable to come to the library for any reason, they should communicate with ILL staff to authorize another person to pick up their items. ILL items will not be delivered.
Requests for electronic copies, once filled, will be sent to the patron’s email on file. Patrons may also access their electronic documents through their ILLiad accounts. To conserve space and follow copyright guidelines, electronic copies will be automatically deleted 30 days after the article has been received. After 30 days, a new ILL request must be placed to regain access. Patrons expecting to need electronic documents longer than 30 days are advised to download their documents to their computer before the 30 days are up.
Patrons may request an extension on the due date of their ILL item in their ILLiad account or by emailing the ILL department. Renewals are not guaranteed and are at the discretion of the lending library. If an item cannot be renewed and the patron still needs the item, the patron should return the item and inform ILL staff that they would like to resubmit the request and get another copy.
Overdue materials can only be renewed by emailing the ILL department directly.
Patrons will be sent an automated reminder email when an item they have checked out will be due in three days. Patrons will be sent automated overdue notices by email when an item they have checked out becomes one day overdue, two weeks overdue, and five weeks overdue. The five-week overdue email will be the patrons final notice before the ILL department begins the process of billing the patron for lost book charges. If an overdue item is not returned within six weeks of becoming overdue, the ILL department will contact the borrowing library to request an invoice for lost book charges. Once an invoice is received, the patron will be billed and held responsible for whatever cost the lending library has deemed appropriate. Overdue items may still be returned after a patron is billed; however, it is up to the discretion of the lending library to accept the return or require payment.
If there is any reason why a patron is unable to return their ILL item on time, this should be communicated to ILL staff as soon as possible. Patrons that have mistakenly taken an ILL book home over semester break may arrange for the item to be shipped back to Bertrand Library using a trackable service. Extenuating circumstances such as illness or travel will delay billing for lost items as long as the patron remains in contact with ILL staff and provides an expected return date.
Bertrand Library recognizes that not every resource format will work for every patron. For this reason, if a patron would like a different format of an item already held by Bertrand, the ILL department will do their best to locate the patrons preferred format. For example, patrons may request a print copy of an owned ebook, or an OCR-enabled scan of a chapter in an owned print book.
It is the responsibility of the patron to indicate their preferred format under the notes section of their ILL request. Requests for owned items that do not indicate a preferred format will be canceled with instructions on where to find the item.
Bertrand Library will not borrow required course textbooks for student use. Students having trouble affording their textbooks should contact Financial Aid for assistance.
All pre-existing damages to ILL items will be noted by ILL staff before going out to patrons. Items that are returned to Bertrand Library damaged (water damaged, torn or marked pages, spine damages) will be subject to whatever policies the lending library has set for damaged items, which may include replacing the item. Normal wear and tear from use is generally acceptable. Patrons are expected to treat borrowed items with care and refrain from writing in or highlighting text in borrowed books. Sticky notes are acceptable.
Patrons may place requests for any item or format; however, rare items or items in non-typical formats will generally take longer to fill. In some cases, ILL staff may not be able to locate a borrowable copy at all, although every attempt will be made to procure a requested item.
Examples of non-typical formats that may be harder to locate include: theses and dissertations, microforms, vinyls, and audiobooks.
All efforts will be made to borrow books that patrons are allowed to take home. However, libraries that hold rare or expensive items have the right to require that their items stay within Bertrand to prevent loss or damages. Borrowed items with this restriction will be clearly labeled and placed on the hold shelf like any other ILL item. Patrons may pick their item up from the circulation desk and take it to their preferred location within the library, but must return the item to the circulation desk before exiting the library. The item will then remain on the hold shelf until its due date. Patrons may come in to view the item as many times as they want. Renewals on In-Library-Use only items may be requested via email to the ILL department.
If a patron is found to have removed an In-Library-Use only item from the library, any future In-Library-Use only items will only be available under the supervision of a reference librarian or ILL staff.
Patrons with a history of not returning books on time may be restricted to In-Library-Use only for all ILL items. Restoration of ILL privileges is subject to the discretion of ILL staff.