How long does it take to receive an interlibrary loan?

Response time can vary, so give yourself enough time. Sometimes we receive an article in less than a day, but it may take up to two weeks to have a book mailed to us. Usually, the response is somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, there are a few times that we will be unable to acquire materials for you. We will let you know when this happens.

How will I know when my loan arrives?

When your material arrives, we will contact you at your Northland email address. If the item is an article, you’ll receive a link or attachment with the article. For books or DVDs, we’ll ask you to pick materials up at the circulation desk.

How long may I keep interlibrary loan materials?

Loan periods for ILL items are determined by the lending library and they vary, but are generally around four weeks.

May I renew my interlibrary loan?

Often, the lending library will grant one renewal. To request a renewal, please fill out the online form. We will contact you though your Northland email to let you know if a renewal has been granted. Due dates are set by the lending library, and it is important that we comply with these deadlines. Late returns jeopardize our ability to get loans for other patrons. Please request a renewal at least two days prior to the due date.

What if I have overdue ILL materials?

Anyone with overdue ILL materials will not be allowed to place additional requests until all overdue materials are returned. Overdue ILL materials may result in a block on circulation transactions at Dexter Library, including checking out and renewing materials. If the Dexter Library has to pay a lending library for lost items, patrons will be charged for the replacement plus an additional $10. Charges will be sent to the Business Office.

Is there a limit to the number of ILL requests?

There is a cap for student requests of ten (10) items per academic year. Students who exceed that limit, with the exception of capstone work, will be charged $2.50 per item for additional requests. Students who request items that are received by Dexter Library but who do not pick up the item(s) will be charged $5; no future ILL requests will be processed until all previous charges have been paid.

Dexter Library is a member of LVIS (Libraries Very Interested in Sharing), a national group of primarily academic libraries that agree to lend materials to each other for the cost of postage. If an LVIS library does not hold or is unable to lend an item requested by Dexter Library on behalf of a patron, our library staff will work individually with the patron on how to proceed with the request.

Are there ILL restrictions?

Before processing an ILL request, it is expected that you will have checked item availability in the Dexter Library catalog and subscription databases. Once it is determined that the library does not hold or have access to the item needed, a request may be made. A separate ILL request form must be filled out for each individual item requested.

For books, accurate citation of as much information as possible is essential for ready identification and request of the item—author, title, date of publication, publisher, and edition (if important). Requests for journal articles must include the complete title of the periodical, volume number, issue number (if applicable), year, pages required, and article title and author. Incomplete citations or errors in information submitted will delay the process of acquiring the materials.

What if I have more questions about ILL?

Please email us.

Who may put materials on reserve?

Use of reserve materials is restricted to members of the Northland community. However, members of the media interested in reviewing publications of an upcoming speaker or lecturer will be allowed to check out reserve items, assuming they have a Dexter Library community card. In order for the library staff to provide to faculty accurate statistics on usage of their reserve items and in order to track sometimes-missing reserve items, all reserve items MUST be checked out to the student using the materials—even if the student only wants to make a copy of the item.

How many items can be put on reserve?

Faculty/individuals may put a total of forty items of any content in any format on reserve for each class. A Reserve Request Form must be submitted for each class that requires a reserve.

How long does it take to complete a reserve?

Allow a minimum of seventy-two hours to have materials processed for reserve and ready for students to use. Reserve requests are processed in the order in which they are received.

How are reserved materials identified?

The Dexter Library catalog lists reserve materials by course and by professor/instructor, which may be searched using the tab “Course Reserves.” All materials on reserve are also identifiable in the catalog in the location field of an item’s record.

What is the loan period?

The loan period is determined by the individual/group placing materials on reserve. Most materials placed on reserve are for in-library (ROOM) use only and circulate for four hours. Materials may also be designated as overnight (OVN) or three-day (3-DAY); the loan period for each reserve item is clearly marked on the item or the reserve cuff. Regardless of the type of loan, patrons should always verify with the desk clerk the date and time the materials are due before leaving the library.

What types of reserves are available?

Course reserves: Initiated by faculty in support of a specific course for all or part of a term.

Permanent reserves: Initiated by library staff to restrict access to high-demand items or those that are believed to be at high risk for disappearing.

Other reserves: Initiated by faculty, staff, or students for ongoing or temporary access to a particular set of materials. These reserves are reviewed annually and may be removed by the library staff if circulation of the materials does not seem to warrant their continuing to be made available or if interest in the issue they cover has waned on campus.

What if the reserve material is damaged?

The decision to place personal items on reserve remains with the faculty member/individual. While library staff strive to ensure that personal materials are handled properly, they cannot guarantee nor do they assume responsibility for the abuse, destruction, loss, and/or theft of personal materials placed on reserve. Some minor wear to personal items should be expected, as students frequently make photocopies from these works.

Determining the Need for Copyright Permission

Materials that do not need copyright permission for reserve include:

• Exams, syllabi, instructors’ lecture notes
• Government publications
• A single article from a journal to which the library subscribes
• A single chapter from a book owned by the library
• Material for which the instructor owns the copyright

Materials that do need copyright permission for reserve include:

• A chapter or journal article from a title NOT owned by the library
• Multiple articles from a single issue of a journal
• Multiple chapters from a single book
• Unpublished materials for which the instructor does not own copyright (e.g. student papers)

Dexter Library guidelines on copying for course reserves derive from the fair use provisions of the copyright law of the United States as found in Section 107 of Title 17 of the United States Code. Section 107 expressly permits the making of multiple copies for classroom use. The text of Section 107 is:

“Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified in that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.”

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

Dexter Library staff reserve the right to refuse to place any item on reserve that appears to violate these copyright guidelines. The library also will not place on reserve published works intended to be “consumable” in the course of studying or teaching, including such materials as workbooks, exercises, standardized tests, and test booklets. Note: The convenience of the instructor or students is NOT one of the four factors for evaluating fair use; neither is the expense of the item nor the cost to students.

Note: The national interlibrary loan code prohibits borrowing books/media from other libraries for the purpose of placing them on reserve at the borrowing institution.

Guidelines on the Reproduction of Copyrighted Materials for Inclusion on Reserve

Photocopies or electronic scans created from books or journal issues owned by Dexter Library or a faculty member may be used for one semester for each course and each instructor; subsequent uses will require permission from (and requisite payment, if any, to) the copyright owner. If the College has licensed electronic access to an article, faculty are encouraged to link to that resource.

Copies or scans created from journal issues or books that are not owned by the Dexter Library or the instructor may be used in course reserve only with permission of the copyright owner and payment of any requisite fee. Fair use does not apply in such cases. Faculty members are responsible for requesting copyright permission, with library staff providing what assistance they can.

Copies or scans of materials put on reserve should include the generic copyright warning: “This material may be protected by copyright. Further dissemination is prohibited.”

Guidelines for Placing AV Materials on Reserve

Licensed copies and/or commercially purchased or rented copies of films, broadcasts, performances, audio, videos, DVDs, CDs, or other digital formats owned by Dexter Library or an instructor may be placed on reserve. Northland community members should be aware of what constitutes public performance, as AV materials without purchased or rented public performance rights can only be used in a face-to-face classroom setting by students enrolled in a specific class. What constitutes a public performance is regulated by copyright law, which provides for very specific exemptions to nonprofit educational institutions. Material must be directly class related, be shown only in instructional venues (i.e. classrooms), and have restricted access to those enrolled in the course.

Note: None of the staff employed at Dexter Library have any special training or expertise in copyright law. They can only provide faculty and the campus community with basic information concerning copyright law and assist in directing individuals to more authoritative sources of information. None of the information concerning copyright in any of the library policies should be taken as definitive or assumed to provide a legal interpretation of the laws.

United States Copyright Office (at the Library of Congress)

For all things copyright. Quick FAQ, basic copyright, policy and laws, and more. You can search here for works registered and documents recorded by the US Copyright Office since January 1, 1978. Go to copyright.gov.

Campus Guide to Copyright Compliance

From the CCC, Copyright Clearance Center. View this CCC resource.

Copyright Crash Course from the University of Texas

A thorough tutorial in basic copyright for higher education by Georgia Harper at The University of Texas at Austin. Check out the Copyright Crash Course.

Copyright at Indiana University

Check out their resources and FAQ tabs for links to additional information sources on copyright issues. View this Indiana University resource.

Creative Commons

Many of you may have seen reference to or heard of Creative Commons Licensing, frequently seen in articles/photos on Wikipedia. If you or your students have questions about what that means or if you, yourself, would like to publish using a Creative Commons License, this is the site to check out for answers to your questions. Go to creativecommons.org.

To reserve the library rooms 001, 003, and 013, please schedule these through your Outlook calendar while scheduling your meeting. The room options are found through either “rooms,” “location,” or “resources,” depending on the email program. If you’re using a Mac and having trouble, enter “Dexter” in the “To:” field along with your attendees, choose the room you want, then click into the “Scheduling” tool and room availability will appear alongside your attendees’ schedules.

All rooms are equipped with a DVD/VCR player, projector, and whiteboard.

Need to talk to someone about how to research your paper or capstone project? Fill out the form below and we’ll be happy to help.