Interlibrary Loan
About Interlibrary Loan
When you fill out an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) request, we ask libraries throughout the entire United States, not just Pima County, if they will lend us the item (print book, copy, or microform) you are looking for.
Items borrowed through Interlibrary Loan do not belong to PCPL. See the Limitations and Rules to the right.
If you are looking for a recently published book, audiobook, eBook, or DVD, please use our Suggest a Purchase form instead. You must be logged in to suggest a purchase.
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- Or, if you've finished your book you can suggest the library add it to our collection.
Checking on the Status of Your Request
It is not unusual for an ILL request to take up to six weeks. If it has been six weeks since you placed your request, please call Infoline at 520-791-4010 and staff can check on your request. Please have your library card ready when you call.
Learn More
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When you put in an Interlibrary Loan request, the pickup location is automatically set to your home library (ILLs are not allowed to be picked up through the pickup lockers). If you want to pick up an Interlibrary Loan request at a different library, please ask a staff member to change your home library.
When you send in a request, we'll borrow it from another library system. This is called Interlibrary Loan. There are some limits on what we can borrow from other libraries. Please see below.
- If the title came out within the last year or it's a movie, audiobook, or eBook, suggest a title for the Library to buy.
- If the title is older than a year or it's a journal article or microfilm, request an Interlibrary Loan.
Can I get anything another library owns through Interlibrary Loan?
We cannot get the following:
- New books (within one year of publication)
- Any item we own or have on order, including reference books
- Audio-visual materials: CDs, books on tape, videos, DVDs, or computer software
- Rare or fragile books
- Materials from the National Archives
- Materials from libraries outside of the continental U.S.
- Books that you borrowed via Interlibrary Loan in the past year. You can only request a title once per year.
Occasionally, we will have only one copy of a title. If it is marked lost, billed, or missing, you may request the title through our Interlibrary Loan service, because although we still own a copy of the title, it is unavailable for checkout with no ETA on availability.
Learn more and submit your request.
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You have to be in good standing with the Library.
- You have to have a regular, full-service library card to use Interlibrary Loan
- You must owe $5 or less in fees
- You must be a Pima County resident
You are limited to three (3) Interlibrary Loan requests at a time (including Interlibrary Loan items currently checked out). This can be a combination of items, such as 2 books and 1 photocopy articles, or 3 books.
Interlibrary Loans can't be renewed.
Interlibrary Loans must be returned to the same library where you picked them up.
There is a 3-day grace period. Late fees for overdue interlibrary loan items are 50 cents per day, with a maximum of $10.00. Charges for lost or damaged books are billed to you at whatever rate the lending library charges.
In most cases, this service is free. We cover all shipping and processing charges. However, sometimes the library that owns the material charges a lending fee or copying cost. These costs are your responsibility. If a library charges a fee, we will notify you in advance for your approval.
When you put in an Interlibrary Loan request, the pickup location is automatically set to your home library (ILLs are not allowed to be picked up through the pickup lockers). If you want to pick up an Interlibrary Loan request at a different library, please ask a staff member to change your home library.
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Genealogy materials are the hardest to obtain via interlibrary loan. Sometimes the library that owns the material will not lend the item, but might copy the index or pages with specific names. If you have a specific family name in which you are interested, please put it on the interlibrary loan request form.
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When you put in an Interlibrary Loan request, the pickup location is automatically set to your home library. If you want to pick up an Interlibrary Loan request at a different library, please ask a staff member to change your home library.
Interlibrary Loan requests won't show up in your holds list because they are not a part of the Pima County Public Library catalog.
When we receive and process your ILL, we attach a temporary barcode for our catalog, and you will get notified by email or mail that it's ready for pickup. After your ILL is checked out to you with our barcode, it will show up in your account with your other checked out items.
If you want to make sure that we got your request, please call Infoline at 520-791-4010 and staff can check on your request. Please have your library card ready when you call.
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