California Digital Library

UC Interlibrary Loan Services

What is Interlibrary Loan?

Interlibrary loan is the process of borrowing and lending circulating materials and the provision of journal article reproductions from library to library, or between libraries and other institutions.

Most libraries lend materials only to other libraries through interlibrary loan, not directly to patrons. If you are not affiliated with the University of California and would like to borrow books or purchase photocopies of articles, please go to the visitor section.

How to Request Materials

Please select the appropriate link if you are:

Interlibrary Loan Services

If you are a UC faculty, student or staff

Interlibrary loan services, designed to support research, coursework, and job related information needs, are generally available to University of California faculty, students and staff at any UC campus library. Policies as to who is eligible, what services are offered, and the cost involved differ from library to library. For specific information, please select the campus with which you are affiliated for more information.

Recreational reading (defined as materials not needed for the support of universit y research, coursework, or UC job related functions) are not supported at most libraries. Some libraries offer interlibrary loan for recreational reading on a cost-recovery basis. Please contact your home campus library for details.

Faculty, graduate students and staff may use the Request service in the Melvyl Catalog to place online requests for books and other circulating materials. Other materials may be requested from your home campus through a variety of methods, described below. Some libraries also provide paging and/or document delivery services.

Loan Policies

For more information on the interlibrary loan services and policies of your campus library, please select the appropriate campus below:

Southern Regional Library Facility (SRLF)
Northern Regional Library Facility (NRLF)
If you are an interlibrary loan department affiliated with a library, academic institution, government agency, or medical institution
General policy:

Most UC interlibrary loan units participate in interlibrary loan activity to libraries outside the UC system. Interlibrary loan activities may include the lending of circulating materials such as monographs, videocassettes, films, and maps. The purchase of photocopies of journal articles, chapters of reference books, special collections items, and other materials is also commonly available.

Charges:

Charges vary among the libraries, but in general loans are $10.00 for libraries or institutions within the state of California; $20.00 for loans to libraries outside the state of California; $20.00 - $40.00 for loans outside the United States. Photocopies range from $8.00 to $20.00.

Requesting Methods:

Each library may participate in a variety of national interlibrary loan systems. Requests should be sent to the library that owns the materials being requested. The most common methods of requesting materials from a UC library include OCLC, Docline, FAX, and ARIEL. Check each library's information below for details on policies and charges.

Southern Regional Library Facility (SRLF)
Northern Regional Library Facility (NRLF)
If you are a visitor
General Policy:

Most libraries only lend library to library, not directly to a patron. In general, you should initiate a request through your local public library or educational institution. Visitors without affiliation to another library or direct borrowing privileges at any of the UC libraries may be able to obtain copies of articles and the loan of some materials through fee-based services in several of the UC Libraries. Traditionally, these services are cost-recovery with prices ranging from $10.00 to $40.00 plus copyright royalty payment for photocopies of articles additional.

Questions? Comments?

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