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Policy Recommendations of the MINITEX/MnLINK ILL Committee
Interlibrary Loan through the MnLINK Gateway
Policy Recommendations of the MnLINK ILL Subcommittee
Approved by the MnLINK Steering Committee
August 27, 1999
(Rev. July 23, 2002)
"All people in Minnesota will have access to a wide array of high quality library services
and global information resources in a range of formats whenever, wherever, and however the
information services are needed."—Library Planning Task Force Vision Statement, 1995;
MnLINK Policy Advisory Committee, 2002
"If Minnesota is to retain its place as a leader in resource sharing, and more importantly, if
it is to continue to improve the access to information its residents want and deserve, the
state must do more than implement new technologies. It must use new technologies to their best
advantage by establishing protocols and procedures that focus first on the needs of library
users."—Minnesota Interlibrary Loan Study Report, Himmel & Wilson, 1999
In the spirit of the above statements and in an effort to place the interests of library users
at the center of resource sharing policy, the Committee recommends to participating MnLINK
libraries the following interlibrary loan policies to achieve uniformity for the benefit of
all users.
The Committee presented draft policies for feedback at the MINITEX Interlibrary
Loan Conference on May 19, 1999. Attendees participated in small group discussions that
elicited very useful feedback. A summary of these discussions is available at the MnLINK Web
site.
The final policy recommendations were approved by the MnLINK Steering Committee in August
1999, and were reviewed and revised in June 2002 with particular reference to the 2001 revision
of the national Interlibrary Loan Code.
The Committee will review these recommendations on a regular basis. The membership list and
contact information as well as other information on the workings of this group may be found
on this Web site.
Locally-Owned Materials
The borrowing library is encouraged to allow its patrons to make interlibrary loan requests for
items that are locally owned if the item needed is not currently available because the item is:
- in use by another patron,
- missing from the shelf,
- at the bindery or in disrepair,
- non-circulating (i.e. reference), or
- on reserve for a course.
All libraries should consider lending and borrowing materials in all formats. (Interlibrary
Loan Code for the United States, 2001, section 5.2)
ILL Loan Periods
The recommended minimum interlibrary loan period is four weeks. A shorter loan period may be
set for recently published material, material that is in heavy demand, or material that is used
in curriculum.
Renewals
The borrowing library may request one renewal per item. The lending library is strongly
encouraged to grant renewals on materials whenever possible. However, the lending library does
have the right to refuse to renew materials. If the lending library does not respond to a
renewal request, the borrowing library may assume that a renewal has been granted for the same
period as the original loan. (Interlibrary loan Code for the United States, 2001, sections
4.11, 5.8)
Recalls
The lending library has the right to recall all materials. Materials may be recalled at any
time. Whenever possible, the patron should be allowed a minimum of four days to use the
material before returning it. Recall due dates supersede all previous due dates (Interlibrary
Loan Code for the United States, 2001, section 4.12).
Overdue Notification
The borrowing library is responsible for generating and sending all notices to their patrons.
Overdue Fines
The lending library will not assess overdue fines against the borrowing library. The borrowing
library retains the right to establish local policies regarding fining their own patrons for
interlibrary loan materials.
Lost or Damaged Materials
The borrowing library is responsible for all materials lost or damaged by their patrons or
while in transit. Compensation will be in accordance with the preference of the lending
library. The lending library will not bill the borrowing library for more than the amount they
bill their own patrons. The lending library may accept a replacement copy in lieu of payment
but in such cases may also assess processing fees. (Interlibrary Loan Code for the United
States, 2001, section 4.9)
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