The Interlibrary Loan Service (ILL) supports the instructional and research needs of LaGuardia's faculty, staff and members of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society by borrowing materials that are not owned by the Library. Every effort is made to borrow materials from libraries within the New York City area. When the desired item is not available within this region, ILL will borrow from libraries throughout the United States.

The information and effort the patron puts into the requests can have a great impact on ILL's speed and effectiveness. Therefore, you can expedite your ILL request by familiarizing yourself with the rules and guidelines before submitting any requests. Questions concerning the ILL Service should be directed to Professor Clementine Lewis or the ILL Staff - Library -Room E-101C (718) 482-5428.

Interlibrary Loan Hours

How to Make A Request
Check LaGuardia's holdings first (i.e., CUNY+ and LaGuardia Periodicals) to ensure that the library does not own the item.

Complete an Interlibrary Loan Request Form for each item requested. Forms are available from the Reference and Circulation Desks in the Library. (See Online ILL Request Forms for the LaGuardia Community.)

Include the following information on requests:

Completed requests forms may be submitted at the Reference Desk or the Circulation Desk.

Items That May Be Borrowed
The Library does not limit the number of interlibrary loan requests made by LaGuardia faculty, staff and members of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

Most books and articles in magazines, journals and newspapers can usually be obtained through the Interlibrary Loan Service. Dissertations and recently published books (the current calendar year) are difficult and/or expensive to obtain.

Items That May Not Be Borrowed
The items that may not be borrowed include the following:

When Requested Items Arrive

Note: Interlibrary loans are strictly a library-to-library operation. Items requested may only be collected (by requestors) from the LaGuardia Library and not directly from the lending library.

Renewals
The requested item is available for the patron's use up to the due date that is indicated. Renewals are the prerogative of the lending institution and may or may not be granted.

A request for renewal should be made through the Interlibrary Loan Office at least one week prior to the due date. Please bear in mind that some lending institutions will not consider requests for renewal items that are already overdue.

The Interlibrary Loan Office will inform the patron if the renewal has been approved. If the renewal is not approved, the patron will be asked to return the item by the due date.

Returns
Interlibrary Loan items must be returned to the Circulation Desk in the LaGuardia Library. The patron is responsible for their safe return. The precautions listed below should be followed when returning items:

Status of Requests
The receipt of materials is not entirely predictable. If the item is available within CUNY, the average time is 1 week or less. If the item is located in a library outside of the New York City vicinity, the average time is 1 to 2 weeks. The Interlibrary Loan staff will notify the patron when the requested item has arrived. Also, if the item is not available through the Interlibrary Loan Service, the patron will be notified.

The Interlibrary Loan staff will make at least three attempts to locate a requested item. If additional information is needed for the request, the patron will be notified immediately by telephone or e-mail.

After the third attempt, the patron will be notified via a memorandum or an e-mail that the item is not available.

Note: The CUNY+ status of an item may not be accurate. On many occasions, the status "not checked out" and "check shelf" may not be correct. If the item is missing or lost, the Interlibrary Loan Service will request the item from a lending institution outside of CUNY.

Charges
Most books can be obtained at no cost. When the lending institution charges to lend a book or to send photocopies of an article, the interlibrary loan patron must pay the fee. The request will not be processed until the patron has been notified and agrees to pay the fee. The lending institutions will determine these fees, not LaGuardia.

Note: The patron will be notified before any charges are processed. To expedite requests, the patron should check "yes" on the request form if he or she is willing to pay for an item.

Faculty, staff and members of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society with overdue interlibrary loan items will be blocked from borrowing from CUNY libraries and from using the Interlibrary Loan Service.

Members of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society who keep items beyond the due date, or who fail to return an item recalled by the lending institution on time will have to pay a $1.00 per day fine per item.

Any item that is lost, stolen, etc. is the responsibility of the patron while it is charged out to him/her. The patron is encumbered and the amount of the item is placed in his/her CUNY+ patron bill account. Members of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society will lose borrowing privileges until the bill is cleared. A Library Hold will be placed in the Registrar's Office.

Interlibrary loan services depend upon the good will and reciprocity of other libraries. Failure to return items on time jeopardizes our reciprocal relationship with the lending library.

If you wish to obtain photocopies or borrow materials from our general collection, please review the following information: