Interlibrary Services

INTERLIBRARY SERVICES POLICY FOR THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
January 2022

Who can place an interlibrary services request

Interlibrary services requests will be accepted from anyone with a valid permanent New York Public Library card.

Patrons with the following Library accounts are ineligible for interlibrary services:

  • Unpaid fines in excess of $100
  • Temporary cards
  • Limited checkout/quick access

    • What can be requested on interlibrary services

    Materials not owned by New York Public Library including:

  • Printed materials such as books, scores, dissertations
  • Microform materials such as newspapers and other periodicals
  • Recordings such as DVD’s and CD’s
  • Electronic scans of journal/periodical articles and portions of books
  • Circulating copies of books and recordings available at the Library only in the non-circulating research collection.

    • What cannot be requested through interlibrary services

  • Items for which the Library holds at least one circulating copy
  • Books and recordings published/released within the 12-month period prior to the date of the request
  • E-books
  • Electronic scans of entire works protected by copyright

    • Submitting interlibrary services requests

    Online

  • Submit a request directly to the Interlibrary Services staff by registering in ILLiad and entering bibliographic data about the item in the ILLiad request form.

    • Paper Forms

  • Request forms are available at all Library locations. Completed forms should be submitted to a Library staff member to be delivered to the Interlibrary Services staff.

    • Requests are not accepted by telephone or email.

    Using interlibrary services items

  • Circulating items:

    • The majority of items will be delivered for checkout at a Library location. Interlibrary Services staff will place a hold on the item, which you will see in your patron account, and send the item to the location you have selected for pickup. You will receive a notification message when the item has arrived and is ready for pickup. The initial loan period is three weeks. Extension of the loan period is possible. Please request extensions directly from the Interlibrary Services staff by email or telephone.

  • Non-circulating items:

    • Some materials may be restricted to in-library use only. These items will be delivered for use in one of the research libraries, with no option for use outside of the building. All microform materials must be used in one of the research libraries.

  • Electronically delivered items:

    • Electronic scans will be delivered directly to an email address. Occasionally a digitized item will be accessible only on a computer at the Library. You will be notified by Interlibrary Services staff in those cases.

    Returning interlibrary services items

    Interlibrary services items can be returned to any Library circulation desk. They should NOT be returned in a book drop.

    There is a minimum charge of $75 for items not returned. This fee also applies to items returned incomplete or damaged. Patrons who fail to return multiple interlibrary services items may be suspended from this service.

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