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Audiovisual (AV) Materials
Who lends audiovisual items?
Availability of audiovisual materials for interlibrary loan varies a lot from library to
library, so whether or not your patron's audiovisual request can be filled through Minitex
depends on the lending library's AV policy.
In our region, some libraries lend all of their audiovisual materials to any library, some
do not lend any audiovisual materials to other libraries, while a third group of libraries
will only lend materials to the libraries that also lend AV items to their patrons.
To see if another library is likely to lend an audiovisual item to your patron,
check the MnLINK/Minitex ILL Policy Database.
What are other important things to know about audiovisual items?
Please be sure to specify the format your patron needs, such as CD, VHS, DVD or LP.
Currently, when there is no format specified, our staff will fill your request with either
a CD (for sound) or a DVD (for video), since these are the most common formats requested.
Recently released items, such as the titles you would currently find in the "New Release"
section of a video or music store will not circulate, since these items are in high demand
at all libraries.
Loan periods tend to be shorter for AV materials than they are for books. It is also more
likely that the lending library will not renew AV material.
Some audiovisual items never circulate. Just like books, some of these items can be in the
lending library's "reference" collection.
Some libraries own materials for which they have been required to sign a purchase agreement
that forbids interlibrary loan of a particular item.
If your patron needs a particular audiovisual item on a specific date, please contact the
lending library and arrange your loan directly from the lender.
Special shipping information for audiovisual items
Please return items in the original shipping container. Lenders often purchase heavy duty
containers so their material is not damaged during shipping.
Avoid exposing these types of materials to magnetic fields and extremes in temperature.
Jet packs (envelopes filled with shredded material) may not be used for mailing AV
Materials. The dusty filling material will damage tapes and diskettes.
Copyright
General information
As a borrowing library, you are responsible for making sure the requests that are sent to
Minitex, or any lender, comply with the Copyright Law of the United States of America.
When you send a request for a photocopy from a journal, book, or any printed material, it
must have one of the following copyright designations stated clearly on the request form
before we may process your request:
- CCG = Complies with the Copyright Guidelines (CONTU)
- CCL = Complies with the Copyright Law
While Minitex cannot provide legal advice on copyright, the links provided below should help
you to find good sources of information about how to interpret the copyright law so you can
apply it to your individual situation and interlibrary loan operation.
Copyright Clearance Center (CCC)
In our region, some libraries use Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) to pay publishers for
permission to copy from their journals when their request needs exceed fair use guidelines.
Minitex provides a discounted rate to libraries who wish to subscribe to the Copyright
Clearance Center.
Other libraries track carefully to make sure their photocopy requests fall under "fair use"
guidelines and only initiate copy requests when they are not required to pay royalties or
to get a publisher's permission.
Editions
If your patron will only accept a certain edition of an item, make sure your request
specifies "this edition only" in the notes field. In most cases, we will automatically
substitute another edition of the item if the requested edition is unavailable.
Genealogical Requests
Genealogical materials usually do not circulate; however, we may be able to photocopy
sections from a family history, ship's passenger list, or other genealogical material. If
your patron is not sure which sections to copy, please submit a request for a copy of the
"table of contents" so the patron can select the pages to be copied. Include a copyright
compliance of CCG or CCL.
Managing Genealogy Requests
This document contains specific information about which genealogical items circulate from
libraries that Minitex uses most frequently for these types of materials.
Limiting Referral Locations
Libraries can request special handling of their requests by asking Minitex to limit the
locations to which the request will be referred. There are several options for limiting
your request which are described below:
Campus Only
Minitex staff will search only University of Minnesota campus libraries and Minneapolis
Public library. You need only to provide the campus locations and a "need by" date of at
least 2 days.
Directed Referral
For "Directed Referrals", Minitex staff will continue to check University of Minnesota,
Twin Cities Campus Libraries and Minneapolis Public Library, in addition to only those
other locations we can access within your "need by" date. This gives you the ability to
decide exactly how many referrals Minitex should make for your request.
The locations we access will continue to be prioritized in the order we believe to be the
most cost effective and efficient. For instance, we will not refer to Wisconsin WiLS
libraries (a more time consuming and expensive option than using libraries in our region)
before a Minnesota library.
To use these options:
Type the words Campus Only or Directed referral (and the desired locations), in a "notes,"
"location," or "verification" field of your request.
Non-Circulating Items
The following items are unlikely to circulate through interlibrary loan. Occasionally,
Minitex may be able to make a copy of the table of contents or a section of a certain item.
When requesting a copy from a non-circulating item, please be sure to include copyright
compliance.
- Best-sellers, "in constant demand" items
- Course reserve—please do not request items intended to be put on course reserve
- Fragile books or items in poor condition
- Genealogical items such as family histories, passenger lists, etc.
- New release videos
- Periodicals
- Rare books
- Reference items
One Volume Per Request
If your patron is requesting multiple volumes of a set of books, please send a separate
request for each volume. Many of our online interlibrary loan systems are designed to handle
just one item (barcode) per request.
Page Limits for Copying
Minitex staff will copy up to 75 pages per article. If the request is referred to another
library, page limits may differ.
Request Help to Identify Locations
NLOC
If you need some help verifying a request that cannot be filled by Minitex, you may request
assistance in identifying non-Minitex locations so you are able to refer a request outside
of our region.
Type "NLOC" (for "Need Locations") in the "notes," "location" or "verification" section of
your request form. A Minitex staff member will check resources available at the University
of Minnesota for bibliographic sources and, if located, will provide you with a list of
libraries that own the item.
If an NLOC item is found to be owned at a Minitex library, it will automatically be referred
to that location in an attempt to fill the request.