Interlibrary Loan Policies

Interlibrary loan is a service offered by the library that attempts to obtain books, periodical articles, other documents, scores, recordings, videos and other formats from other libraries when these items are not available from our collection. Patrons should first try to obtain such materials (other than journal articles) on their own through the I-Share catalog for the quickest service.

The service is limited to currently enrolled students, faculty and staff employed by the university.  The service is offered at no charge to the patron.  Requests are normally processed Monday through Friday. Forms (book / journal) are available in the library and on the North Park Library website.  All requested  information on the forms must be filled out for processing.  The library notifies patrons when materials arrive at the library.  Patrons are responsible for their own follow-up on requests, as notification of unavailable materials is not always possible with the amount of work maintained in the ILL office.  Distance learning students may request materials to be sent and/or faxed to them at no cost to the student.

Brandel Library uses the OCLC international database service to locate requested materials.  Moreover, requests and loans are processed through the OCLC-ILL module. 

North Park University is located in a large city rich with various types of libraries.  This means that materials are often readily available. Further enhancing service, North Park belongs to several consortia, which promise to its members considerate and speedy ILL reciprocal borrowing.  The library cannot assure patrons of an item’s attainability, or of an item’s attainability within the time the patron wants the material.

As do all other institutions, North Park University participates in reciprocal borrowing to the extent its resources allow.  Usually, materials from the General Collection are the only materials loaned.  The Brandel Library does not loan materials from the reference, rare book, or special collections, or any complete journal.  Generally, materials from the media and curriculum collections do not circulate through Interlibrary loan.  Librarians may decide on an individual basis concerning these collections.  Brandel Library does not charge for lending. However, charges for shipping may apply when deemed necessary.