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Borrowing Policies

The Carl B. Ylvisaker Library Interlibrary Loan (ILL) department requests materials from other libraries to supplement the resources available on campus. To request materials via interlibrary loan, please complete the appropriate electronic form. ILL will contact patrons via campus mail when an item has arrived. If Interlibrary Loan staff members are unable to fill a request, an email with a description of the problem will be sent to the patron.

Because of the many costs associated with providing interlibrary loan services, the following policies will be followed.

  • Interlibrary loan is available to current students, staff and faculty, and emeriti faculty. Limited interlibrary loan services are available for patrons holding clergy borrowing cards.
  • Patrons are limited to the number of active requests they may have one time. Students may have 20, faculty and staff may have 100, and clergy borrowers may have three.
  • Interlibrary loan staff members request materials from the least expensive source. If charges are incurred, the library will pay the first $20 for student requests and $50 for faculty requests. If total charges exceed these limits, the patron will be contacted and asked to pay the remaining charges. Clergy borrowers will be asked to pay all fees associated with their requests. No charges will be accepted without prior patron approval.

Loan Period

Most items obtained through interlibrary loan may be checked out for 2-3 weeks with one renewal possible. Each lending library determines lending policies and may or may not allow renewals.

Electronic Delivery

When requesting articles through interlibrary loan, patrons may indicate a preference for electronic delivery. The lending library will determine the method of delivery.

If a request is filled electronically, the patron will receive an e-mail from medd@othello.minitex.umn.edu with the subject line Your Interlibrary Loan Request and the following message:

Your requested material is available for pickup at http://medd.minitex.umn.edu. Login with the following information: your e-mail address and PIN (a four digit number that will be given in the message). Your material will be available on the Web site for 5 viewings or 7 days after e-mail notification, which ever comes first.

As the e-mail notification states, the article may only be accessed 5 times. Click on the link only once and contact ILL if there is a problem with access (ckkill@cord.edu or 218-299-3239).