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Interlibrary Loan

How to use Interlibrary Loan.

Borrowing Terms

Materials obtained through interlibrary loan are for your exclusive use and are your responsibility from the time they are checked out to you until they are returned. Items that have been mailed to you through campus mail are your responsibility from the time that they are mailed from our office. We recommend that you return your materials directly to the Interlibrary Loan Department.  Do not return ILL materials to drop boxes.

Overdue materials (including overdue materials from circulation) block you from interlibrary loan borrowing privileges.  If you have overdue ILL or circulation material, you will be unable to access your ILL Express! account.  

The lending library, not our Interlibrary Loan Department staff, sets the conditions for each loan. We cannot change these conditions, and we ask patrons to honor them.  Failure to return materials on time can damage the library's relationship with the libraries from which we acquire materials and may prevent us from borrowing from those libraries in the future.  

The lending library may restrict the use of materials to use within the Thomas Cooper Library only, and may also disallow copying or renewal.  If your loan is restricted to In Library Use Only, it will be held at Thomas Cooper Library; it will not be delivered to the Music Library as your ILL Express! preferences may state.  Restrictions are noted on the ILL Express! label on the front of your borrowed item.  The lending library has the right to recall a loan at any time.

The due date for loans is set by the lending library. Not all items are eligible for renewal. Patrons are expected to keep track of the due dates and to return materials on time.  If you receive overdue notices, you are expected to return the material that day or the following day.  Materials should be returned to the Interlibrary Loan office or to the Thomas Cooper Library Circulation Desk.  

Please do not remove the ILL Express! identification bands that are placed on all borrowed items.  We need them so that we can correctly identify your materials and process them for return to the lending institutions.

Additional Services for Faculty Members

If you would like to allow your graduate assistant to check out items to your account, there are two ways to go about it.

1. You may request a proxy card for that student. The form can be obtained at the Circulation Department, by email request or by completing the online form. Proxy cards are issued for one semester. The card will be processed within 2 working days. The proxy card will be mailed to you, the faculty member. You assume full responsibility for all items checked out on the proxy card.

2. Add user to your authorized users list in your ILL account. Again, you assume responsibility for all items checked out by authorized users.

If you have any questions or concerns about services for faculty, you may contact Amber Cook at (803) 777-2805 or by email at gibbsca@mailbox.sc.edu.