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Borrowing and Circulation

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

Make an ILL Request

If the Holman Library does not have a specific book, video or article you need, we will attempt to borrow it for free from another library for you! This Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service provided to current Green River College students, faculty and staff.

Complete all required fields, including your email address or phone number. You will be notified when the item arrives, usually in one - two weeks.

 

Hint: To find out what the library already has available for you, search the link below for title.
If you find the title of what you need elsewhere (the internet, another library), but you cannot access the full text of the item, then it's time to request an Interlibrary Loan through the Holman Library!

Interlibrary Loan book example

Interlibrary Loan book example (click image to enlarge)

ILL FAQs

What is an Interlibrary Loan (ILL)?

When one library borrows materials from another, it is called Interlibrary Loan or "ILL." Borrowing from other libraries offers access to materials that are not available in Holman Library. Interlibrary Loan is a voluntary cooperative arrangement among libraries and is bound by the Washington State Interlibrary Sharing Code and Copyright Law.

Who may request Interlibrary Loans?

Current students, faculty, staff, and emeriti of Green River may all use Interlibrary Loan. Community borrowers must use their local public or county library system for materials.

(If you have emeritus status, please email Catherine Rabold at crabold@greenriver.edu.)

How do I make ILL requests?

When can ILL requests be made?

You can request an Interlibrary Loan only during the quarter. Interlibrary Loans are not available during breaks between quarters.

What can I request by Interlibrary Loan?

Books, copies of periodical articles, some audio-visual materials, and microforms can be borrowed by ILL if the library that owns the item allows it to be loaned out. Textbooks currently required for courses cannot be Interlibrary loaned.

When and where will I receive my ILL materials?

It usually takes about one-two weeks to receive an item, but may take more or less time, depending on availability.

Borrowers will be notified by email or phone when their materials arrive. Materials may be picked up at the Holman Library circulation desk any time before the due date.

How long can I borrow an ILL loan item? Can I renew it?

The library that owns the item determines the borrowing and renewal times; however you can generally borrow books for about three weeks and most media for about two weeks. Renewals generally extend the borrowing period about two more weeks. Contact the Holman Library Circulation Desk to request a renewal at least two days prior to your due date.

What if I damage or lose an ILL item?

 

Borrowers receiving materials through Interlibrary Loan accept full responsibility for their care and return. They will be responsible for the cost of repair or replacement of damaged or lost materials.

Interlibrary Loan privileges may be revoked if previously loaned materials have not been returned, or have been lost or damaged. If materials have been lost or damaged, fines must be paid before new Interlibrary Loans will be processed.

Interlibrary Loan materials must be returned, regardless of condition.

Does an Interlibrary Loan cost money?

Usually no.

Holman Library does not charge a fee for Interlibrary Loans, but occasionally some lenders do. In this rare event, you, the borrower would be charged that lending fee.

We try to locate a vendor that does not charge a fee. If a fee is charged, we will contact you by email or phone before the request is placed. If you agree to pay the fee, you will pay at the Cashiers Office prior to checking out the material at the circulation desk in Holman Library.

How does copyright affect InterLibrary Loans?

 

Copyright law does apply when making photocopies of copyrighted materials. Guidelines for articles published fewer than five years ago recommend:

  1. The library not request more than five  articles from a single journal title in a single year, and
  2. The library not request multiple articles from a single issue of a journal.

Are there any other restrictions on ILL requests?

Restrictions on the number of requests by one person may vary. If requests are made and not picked up, further requests may be restricted.

Find ILL Items

FIRST, search other libraries with larger collections to find more titles on your topic:

NEXT, determine if the Holman Library already has the item available by searching for the title in the link below

FINALLY, if the Holman Library does not have the item available for you, it's time to make an Interlibrary Loan Request:

Request Books - Tips

Holman Library has books on many topics, but not every topic. For certain topics, books from other libraries will be needed for your research. With the exception of current textbooks, books can usually be requested through Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

Example

  • Holman Library does not have any books about the various types of mushrooms that grow in the Pacific Northwest.
  • There are other libraries that collect books on this topic. The quickest way to find books on this topic is to use WorldCat.org which searches other libraries.
  • You can go to Worldcat and type a search: mushrooms pacific northwest

(click on image to enlarge)

This image shows a search in the Worldcat catalog for: mushrooms pacific northwest

  • Evaluate the search results for books that will help in your research.
  • The information you will need for the ILL Request Form is highlighted below.
  • IMPORTANT NOTE: If you need a specific edition (i.e. 3rd Edition) you must note this in the Book Edition field of the ILL Form.

(click on image to enlarge)

This image shows the results page for the book "Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest" it highlights the title, author, and date

 

Once you gather the title, author, publisher and date info, use that info to fill out the Interlibrary Loan Request form:

Request Articles - Tips

Library Databases contains many journal, magazine and newspaper articles in full-text format. However, if you encounter an article that is not available in full-text, you can request it through Interlibrary Loan:

Search Tips and Examples

Below is an example of a search in Academic Search Complete, a library database.

 

(click on image to enlarge)

This image shows the search for "mushrooms pacific northwest" in the database Academic Search Complete

  • The image below shows the results of the search shown above. It shows the two records for the two articles that I am interested in reading.
  • Looking at the image, you can see that the first article is available in full-text and links to the PDF, but the other does not show that it is available in full-text.

(click on image to enlarge)

 This image shows two listings, or results, in the database search. The first has a PDF logo next to it showing it is in full text. The second is not available.

  • If you click the Find@GRC or the Check for full text at GRC link you would see a message that says the article is not available.
  • But you can easily request it through Interlibrary Loans (ILL)
  • Click on the title of the article to find the information (shown below) that you will need to fill out the ILL Request Form

(click on image to enlarge)

This image shows how to look on the result screen for the article you're trying to request, within the database, to find info about the article, such as the author, title, publication name, etc.