The due dates for interlibrary loan items are set by the lending library, and do not conform to Randall Library's checkout periods for items from our own collection. The typical lending period for an ILL item is 4-6 weeks, although some libraries will grant more or less time depending on their institution's policies. An item's due date will be printed on the paper strap attached to the item for customer reference.  

The lending library may issue a replacement invoice for any item they consider to be returned damaged. Damage can include (but is not limited to) highlighting or pen marks, coffee stains and other water damage, and torn or detached pages. 

Replacement invoices are the responsibility of the individual who borrowed the item, and charges are added to the user’s library account. Once these charges are paid, the item becomes the property of the user.

For policy information, please see https://library.uncw.edu/policies/interlibrary_borrowing 

Overdue interlibrary loans damage our reputation with other libraries and inhibit our ability to successfully borrow materials for all faculty, staff, and students. You will receive several warning notices before your borrowing privileges are suspended. Borrowing privileges are reinstated once an overdue item is returned unless we have received a final replacement invoice for the item from our lender. You will be notified via email when a final replacement invoice is pending.

Once the final invoice is issued, replacement charges and billing fees will be added to your library account and the item can no longer be returned. At this point, ILL privileges may be suspended indefinitely. Unpaid charges are transferred to student accounts and can inhibit registration, graduation, and transcript requests. Replacement charges issued by lending libraries typically far exceed the market cost of the item, and invoices are non-negotiable.

Library resource sharing staff abide by the statutes outlined in Title 17 of the U.S. Code, as well as the CONTU Guidelines which aid the interpretation of Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act. This process may require the utilization of the Copyright Clearance Center and commercial document suppliers to obtain as much requested material as possible.

The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "Fair Use," that user may be liable for copyright infrigement.  This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

The National Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works (CONTU) has developed a set of guidelines to assist libraries in fulfilling their duties while adhering to copyright law. CONTU guidelines (or the "suggestion of five") permits the copying during a calendar year of no more than five articles from a single journal title, not owned by the library, dated within the past five years. This means that the Interlibrary Loan Department staff can order a total of only 5 articles from a single journal title dated within the past 5 years regardless of how many users request articles from the same journal title. For articles obtained in excess of this number, the Library must pay a fee to the Copyright Clearance Center or must purchase the articles from a commercial vendor.  Any costs exceeding $30.00USD per request are the responsibility of the user requesting the material.

Interlibrary Loan is offered as a free service for eligible users because Randall Library absorbs the following costs for our campus community.

• Borrowing fees can range from $8.00-$35.00 per request, depending on the lending institution.
• Copyright fees can range from $25.00-$65.00 per article, depending on the publisher.
• Shipping rates vary by courier, weight, and destination.

Current UNCW students, faculty and staff.

Interlibrary loan requests can only be canceled between the time they are submitted and the time they are processed by ILL staff. Once a request has been sent out to potential lending libraries (in status: Submitted to Lending Libraries), it cannot be canceled by the requestor.

Due to licensing terms, e-books cannot be borrowed or lent via interlibrary loan. Any ILL request for an e-book will be processed as a request for a physical copy (unless Randall Library already owns the e-book, in which case a link to the item will be provided via e-mail).

Items requested through Interlibrary Loan may take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to arrive depending on the item's type, availability, and the shipping method used by the lending library. Please plan for a waiting period of at least 4 business days for journal articles, and at least 7-14 business days for books. Certain material types are less-often lent by libraries (including newly-published popular fiction and recreational media), so requests for these items may take longer to fill than for other items.

• Please fill out our "Suggest a Purchase" form.
• You will be asked for the author, title, publisher, date, and where you saw this item mentioned.
• You will receive an email confirmation of your purchase suggestion.
• If you want the item put on hold for you when it is available, you can select that option in the form. You will receive an email when the item is ready for pick-up.

When placing an ILL request for a book during the fall or spring semesters you may recommend that Randall Library consider purchasing the item for the collection. To do so, select “Consider for Purchase” or “Not sure” on the request form. If you prefer to borrow the book through the traditional ILL process, select “Borrow.” 

The criteria for this ILL-initiated purchasing program are more restrictive than for standard purchase requests, and include year of publication, cost of item, and expedited shipping availability. If the title meets the criteria, the item will be purchased rather than borrowed. If the title does not meet the criteria it will be requested for borrowing via ILL. 

Purchased items are typically ready for check out within 7 to 12 days. On arrival the item will be placed on hold for you at the Circulation Desk and you will receive an email when it ready to be checked out.

As a reminder, items outside these criteria may be requested by contacting your Liaison Librarian or submitting through the Suggest a Purchase form.

Most books, DVDs, Music CDs. Dissertations/Theses and articles from journals or magazines. Course textbooks and other required course materials are not available to borrow though ILL. These items can be purchased or rented from UNCW's Campus Bookstore.

• Yes, take your UNCW OneCard to the Library Help Desk in the main library at one of the other UNC system libraries.
• Let the staff know that you want to borrow materials through the "UNC Direct Borrowing agreement."
• Show your UNCW OneCard and be prepared to log in to your UNCW account in order to show that you are in good standing.
• If the library does not honor your UNCW OneCard, ask the staff member to call the Randall Library Help Desk at 910-962-3272 so your status can be verified.
• The borrowing policies of that library will apply to any items checked out to you.

• Current faculty and staff may choose to have items sent to their office through campus mail by selecting "Mail to Campus Address" as the delivery method in their ILLiad profile.
• Undergraduate and Graduate students will receive an email notification and instructions when an article is available for download from your ILL account. When a loan is received, an email notification message is sent when the item is available for pickup at the Library Help Desk in Randall Library.
• Distance Education faculty and students will be prompted to enter their current mailing address when creating their ILLiad profile. Items will be mailed via UPS with return shipping provided.
• Graduate students completing degree requirements outside of the Wilmington area may set their ILLiad profile status to “Distance Ed Grad” and provide their current mailing address. Items will be mailed via UPS with return shipping provided.
• Graduate students based at the Center for Marine Science may have items sent to them at CMS Myrtle Grove through campus mail. In their ILLiad profile, students should select “CMS” as their department/major, set their status as “Distance Ed Grad,” and enter CMS/Myrtle Grove as their address.

• You may request one renewal for an Interlibrary Loan item, unless the lending library has disallowed renewals. If no renewal is possible, it will be stated on the item's white band and in the item's record in your ILLiad account.
• To request a renewal, log on your Interlibrary Loan account, click on the transaction number of the item you want to renew, and select "request renewal" in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Your request will be forwarded to the lending library for consideration.
• You will get an email with a new due date if the request is granted or a message requesting the return of the item if the renewal is denied.
• For policy information, please see the Interlibrary Borrowing Policy

• Current UNCW students, staff and faculty can use our Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service to borrow items not owned by Randall Library.
• Log on to our Interlibrary Loan Page to create a request.

• Current UNCW faculty, staff and students are eligible to borrow materials not owned by Randall Library through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
• First time users will enter their name, address, and other personal information into the system only once, at the time of their first request. Thereafter, you log in with your UNCW username and password and need only enter the bibliographic information for your requests.
• Whenever possible, documents are delivered electronically to your ILL account (you will receive email notification).
• Users can check the status of request(s) through their Interlibrary Loan account.