Interlibrary Loan Office
Location Hours Phone Number
Room 109 Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 p.m. (818) 677-2294

Purpose of Interlibrary loan
Interlibrary Loan is a service provided to obtain materials which are needed for research but are not available in the University Library.

Who may use Interlibrary Loan Service?
Currently enrolled CSUN students, currently employed CSUN faculty and staff and Emeritus faculty are entitled to Interlibrary Loan privileges. Courtesy card holders, such as Alumni and Friends of the Library, should obtain Interlibrary Loan Services at their local public library.

Materials available
Items which normally circulate, such as books and theses, and some materials reproduced in microform, such as newspapers, can be borrowed. Photocopies of non-circulating materials, primarily periodical articles, can be requested in accordance with the copyright law. Items owned by CSUN library but declared Officially Missing by the Circulation Department can also be requested.

Materials Not available
The following types of materials CANNOT normally be requested: books owned by the University Library which are temporarily in use or checked out; reference books; textbooks; books very recently published or in high demand; whole periodical issues or volumes; newspapers unless available on microform; non-book materials such as recordings; materials for reserve or group use; genealogical items; bulk or fragile items; and rare or valuable materials such as manuscripts.

How to request items on Interlibrary Loan
Currently we have three methods for submitting requests:

  1. Our web forms are accessible from the University Library's homepage. There are 2 forms available, one for periodical requests and one for book requests.
  2. Through most First Search databases, once you find the citation of the item you wish to order, you can get it by selecting the ILL button. There is also an option of emailing yourself a copy of the citation for your records.
  3. You may also request in writing on a special form supplied from this office or the reference desk. There are two different forms; a blue form for requesting periodical articles or reels of microfilm and the white form is used for books, theses and miscellaneous materials.

There is a limit of 3 requests for students and 5 requests for faculty processed each week. You may turn in as many requests as you would like, and if there is an order of processing preference, please number the requests in that order.

Accurate and complete bibliographic information must be supplied, along with the "source" (usually an index, major bibliography or a searched database), where this information was verified. An address and phone number or email address is needed for notification purposes. The library catalog, the government Publications list and our full-text databases must be consulted first to be sure the material is not held in the University Library. All manually completed forms should be submitted at the Interlibrary Loan Office or given to the Reference Librarian on duty.

How long does it take?????? ----------- Plan ahead!
The average time required to receive a routine item is approximately ten working days. The time depends on the availability of the item, the distance away of the potential lending libraries, the speed of the mail delivery, the accuracy of the information supplied on the the requests, the volume of requests being processed by Interlibrary Loan and the time required to notify. The processing of the request can be sped up by making sure all the information submitted is complete, correct and legible. Requests with problems such as abbreviations, missing or inaccurate information, illegible writing, or a "not needed after" date of less than 2 weeks, are resolved only as time permits. (See also sections on "Notification" and "Questions")

Charges ---- How much does it cost?????
There is no charge for borrowing materials or getting photocopies within the CSUN Interlibrary Loan "network", which includes the other 22-campus CSU system, a host of reciprocal libraries and our document suppliers. Requests from undergraduates are not made outside of this network agreement, so no charges are involved. For graduates and faculty, materials may be requested from any library in the U.S., but the patron is responsible for paying any fees that the lending library may charge. If it is not indicated on the request of willingness to pay a fee ($10 is usually the minimum charged), the request will be searched and processed only within our agreement network. We always attempt to fill a request from within our free network first, but it is always difficult to predict when it may be necessary to search beyond the network. Therefore, graduates and faculty should always indicate whether or not there is a willingness to pay a fee, in order to avoid delays and/or cancellation.

Notification and where to pick up
When the material arrives, we can call or email to inform. If we are unable to reach the patron personally by phone, we will send a postcard. During our regular turnaround time, please call if not notified after 10 working days. Loans can be picked up from the Interlibrary Loan office; photocopies can either be picked up from the office or at the time of the phone call please let caller that the photocopy shoud be mailed. (Please see Hours section for pick up at the reference desk)

Duration of Loans and returning materials
Lending libraries determine any conditions regarding the use of their materials, including the loan period which is normally two weeks for all patrons (including faculty), usually with no renewals allowed. The loan period begins on the date the material arrives at CSUN, so any delays in picking it up results in less use time for you. Renewals should be requested only when absolutely necessary, and must be made before the due date. Other restrictions may include "for Use in the Library Only", and "Photocopying Not Permitted". Be sure to leave the identification band on the cover of the book and do not return ILL materials to the Circulation Department or a book drop. All materials borrowed through Interlibrary Loan must be returned to the Interlibrary Loan Office for special processing. Late return of materials jeopardizes our Interlibrary Loan relationship with other libraries, and we may refuse further Interlibrary Loan service to anyone who disregards due dates, lender restrictions and CSUN policy.

Questions? Need more information???
Come to the Interlibrary Loan office. The Librarians at the Reference Desk can assist you in the bibliographic searching, but they cannot be expected to know all the intricate details of the Interlibrary Loan policy and procedure. Discussing a non-routine request with the Interlibrary Loan Staff, particularly theses, dissertations, music, conference proceedings, government documents, technical reports, etc. may save you a great deal of time, energy and frustration. There may also be alternative means of getting your materials, especially articles. Many of these are accessible online.

*Hours
If the Interlibrary Loan office is closed, materials may be picked up and returned at the Reference Desk, ONLY during those hours when a reference librarian is on duty. Reference desk's normal hours are M-Th 7:45am-10pm, F 7:45am-5pm, S 9am -5pm, Su 1pm -5 pm, but check for special hours during vacations and summer sessions. Please call or come in if there are any questions about our service or ILL requests.


The conditions of this service are set by the National Interlibrary Loan Code, 1980 (adopted by the American Library Association), the CSU Interlibrary Borrowing System agreement, the regulations of individual lending libraries and the polices of CSUN Library.