1. Definitions
   1. Interlibrary loans are transactions in which materials are made available by one library to another.
   2. Interlibrary loan includes the provision of copies as substitutes for loans of original materials.
   
   
2. Purpose- the goal of the NJHSN network is to maximize the free resources for those participants categorized as basic health science libraries.
   1. Health science libraries need to be self-sufficient.
   2. The member libraries of NJHSN regard interlibrary borrowing and lending as essential to library service.
   
   
3. Responsibilities of Lending Libraries
   1. Lending libraries will practice as liberal and unrestrictive a policy as possible with interlibrary loans, giving due consideration to the interests of their primary clientele and their institutional requirements.
   2. Lending libraries have the responsibility of informing their consortium coordinator of any failures to observe the provisions of this code and, if necessary, provisions stated in Section XII may be invoked.
   3. If a lending library cannot fill a request they will note that on Docline within 24 hours of receipt.
   4. Lending libraries will fill requests as quickly as possible. If the request cannot be filled within two working days it must be referred.
   5. Rush and Urgent Patient Care requests are referred to as Special Handling in Docline reflecting their need for a separate work flow from normal ILL requests. Libraries will note if they offer this service on their DOCLINE record.
      1. Rush requests must be filled by end of business the day they are picked up.
      2. Urgent Patient Care requests must be filled within 2 hours of receipt.
   6. Lending libraries are encouraged to use electronic delivery whenever possible.
   7. Lending libraries are responsible for submitting the statistics reporting form to their consortium coordinator on a monthly basis.
   
   
4. Responsibilities of Borrowing Libraries
   1. Borrowing libraries recognize that interlibrary lending does not relieve any library of the responsibility for developing its own collection. Each library will provide for the normal study and research needs of its users.
   2. Borrowing libraries are responsible for submitting the statistics reporting form to their consortium coordinator on a monthly basis.
   3. Borrowing libraries have the responsibility of keeping sufficient records to satisfy Federal copyright regulations.
   
   
5. Scope
   1. Any type of library material for the purpose of study, instruction, information or research may be requested on loan or as a photocopy from another library.
   2. The lending library has the privilege of deciding in each case whether a particular item should or should not be provided, and whether the original or a copy should be sent.
   3. Under the provisions of this code, borrowing libraries will not ordinarily request:
      1. Duplicates of titles already owned
      2. Materials for class or other group use
      3. Basic reference materials
   
   
6. Expenses
   1. To be a member of NJHSN and to participate in the free reciprocal borrowing, a library MUST be an institutional member of HSLANJ and have their library’s serial holdings listed in SERHOLD.
   2. There will be no charges for interlibrary loans among NJHSN members; all loans are filled on the basis of reciprocity.
   3. In the interests of efficiency, the lending library will agree to assume nominal costs for photocopying, fax and first class postage for documents, books or audiovisuals.
   
   
7. Conditions of Loans
   1. The borrowing library will honor any limitations on use imposed by the lending library.
   2. Unless specifically forbidden by the lending library, it is assumed copying is permitted, provided it is in accordance with the copyright law and that no damage to the original material will result.
   3. The borrowing library is responsible for returning loans promptly and in good condition.
   4. The safety of borrowed materials is the responsibility of the borrowing library. The borrowing library will meet all costs of repair or replacement in accordance with the preferences of the lending library.
   5. Libraries will not lend directly to an individual on an interlibrary loan basis, except by mutual agreement.
   
   
8. Placement of Requests
   1. Borrowing libraries will keep their routing tables on Docline current.
   2. Borrowing libraries will make an effort to route the loan to their local consortium before entering the NJHSN network.
   3. Borrowing libraries will follow the borrowing hierarchy established by NJHSN.
   4. Care should be taken to avoid concentrating requests on a few libraries. Should a lending library receive more than two requests per day from a single borrowing library, all requests above two may be filled or referred at the lender’s discretion.
   5. Requests will normally be placed on Docline. Urgent requests may be made by fax or telephone followed by a confirming request on Docline.
   
   
9. Form of Request
   1. All NJHSN members will be Docline participants.
   2. Materials requested must be described as completely and accurately as possible, following accepted bibliographic practice.
   3. Every effort should be made to verify requested material.
   
   
10. Completing Request Forms
    1. Requests for photocopies will include the complete journal citation, including author or authors and article title.
    2. Book requests should include author, title, edition, publisher, date of publication, NLM call number, and series title if any.
    3. Complete source of reference of verification. When requested items cannot be verified, the statement “unable to verify” should be added on the Docline request on the verified by line.
    
    
11. Duration of Loans
    1. Unless otherwise specified by the lending library, the duration of loan is normally calculated to mean the period of time the item may remain with the borrowing library, disregarding the time spent in transit.
    2. The borrowing library should ask for renewal only in unusual circumstances
    3. Material on loan is subject to recall at any time and the borrowing library should comply immediately.
    
    
12. Compliance/Violations
    1. Continued disregard of the provisions of this code shall be sufficient reason for suspension of borrowing privileges.
    2. Continual failure to report statistics on a regular basis will change the borrowing level of the library to a level one.
    3. Failure to report statistics at all is sufficient reason to withdraw borrowing privileges.
    4. Under normal operating circumstances, it sometimes becomes impossible for libraries to fill interlibrary loans for a fixed period of time due to closing, illness, vacation, moving, etc. The maximum allowable time for a library to stay in this category is three months from the time the initial notice is sent out suspending interlibrary loan privileges.
    
    
13. Record Keeping
    
    1. To insure uniformity and accuracy of statistics fill out your monthly report form as accurately as possible.

Please refer questions or comments to Erica Moncrief (emoncrief@capitalhealth.org).

http://www.hslanj.org/ILL.html