WHO MAY USE THE SERVICE

The service is available to faculty, staff and students who hold a valid York University Library card. External borrowers (Alumni, Direct, Extra-mural, etc.) are not eligible. Law faculty and students should register via the Law Library. Note also that we cannot process requests for a user whose library card is blocked. Material requested must be for a user’s OWN research purposes; we cannot accept requests for friends and relatives.

WHAT CAN BE BORROWED

Lending libraries reserve the right to determine what material circulates on interlibrary loan, in accordance with their local policies and demand. We will try to borrow material required for research purposes: books, reports, government documents, theses and dissertations, conference proceedings, newspapers on microfilm and archival material (microfilm or microfiche format). Ontario university libraries may lend items from Special Collections, with the proviso that they be used in the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections Reading Room only.

WHAT CANNOT BE BORROWED

We do not borrow books that are listed in the York catalogue. If a book is charged out, place a HOLD or RECALL request. Contact our department if a book appears to be missing but is not designated “missing” or “lost” in the catalogue. If the format (microform, digital, etc.) is problematic, please contact our office and we will determine on a case-by-case basis if we can obtain an alternate format. ( racer@yorku.ca )

Journals do not normally circulate; we can order a single article from a periodical issue (see CHARGES below).

We do not normally borrow textbooks, as they are usually in high demand, on reserve or in circulation at the home library.

Rare Books and original manuscripts are not available via interlibrary loan.

We do not borrow audio-visual materials. Consult staff in the Sound and Moving Image Library for Interfilm information.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?

Requests will be searched and sent electronically wherever possible. Delivery times for book or microform materials vary from two weeks to several weeks depending on the location of the lending library. Electronic document delivery arrangements among Ontario university libraries make it possible to obtain journal articles within several days. Place orders for research materials well in advance of the time they are needed. Requests cannot be handled on a “last minute” basis. If you have time restrictions, note this on the request form and discuss it with a staff member. However, you are responsible for charges once a request is ordered.

CHARGES

York University Libraries pays the charges for books and microforms obtained on loan; there is no cost to the borrower.

We do not borrow American dissertations that are available in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses or from University Microfilms International. On request, for those American dissertations not available full-text in ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, we will purchase an unbound paper copy from UMI, and subsidize 75% of the cost. The remaining $10.00 is passed on to the requester, who gets to keep the copy. This applies to American PhD dissertations only.

Journals are not available for loan. Copies of articles may be requested. We absorb the costs up to the limits listed below. After the annual limit, there is a charge of $5.00 per article. Articles are normally delivered via a secure web link; after 21 days, articles are deleted from the server. You may view an article up to five times. You may print any articles you wish to keep.

Effective May 2011, the library will subsidize the cost of articles up to the following annual limits (May – April):

Faculty:  50 articles per year

Graduate students:  No limit

Undergraduate students/Staff:  25 articles per year

The charges for manuscript copies and other special items are passed on to the user. Lending libraries reserve the right, in certain cases, to substitute a photocopy for a loan.

Lost books may incur a replacement fee as determined by the lending library.

LOAN RESTRICTIONS

The loan period and conditions of use are determined by the library from which the material is borrowed. Some books or microforms may be restricted to library use only and photocopying may not be permitted. Books borrowed from the Library of Congress are always restricted to in-library use only and, in some cases, supervised consultation is required. Those books may be used in the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections department.

RENEWALS

Books borrowed from Ontario universities are non-renewable. For material borrowed from other locations, when renewals are permitted by the lending library, please notify us at least three days before the due date. Telephone: (416) 736-5808 E-mail: racer@yorku.ca

THESES

Check ProQuest Dissertations & Theses for full-text access to many Canadian and American dissertations.

For free downloads of British theses, check EThOS.

We will attempt to borrow theses from most countries with the exception of American doctoral dissertations (see CHARGES paragraph above). Please note that most theses and dissertations are available for loan in microfilm or microfiche formats only. We borrow microfiche copies of Canadian theses from Library and Archives Canada. We will try to borrow any American PhD dissertations that are not available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses or UMI and all American master’s theses.

We will try to borrow foreign theses if available for loan. As a member of the Center for Research Libraries, York is able to borrow from their collection of over 800,000 foreign doctoral dissertations. We can also request that CRL purchase foreign (non-North American) dissertations; please consult a staff member in Resource Sharing for further details.

PICK-UP AND RETURN OF MATERIALS

Borrowers are notified by e-mail as soon as material is received. Note carefully the location where books or microforms are to be collected: the Resource Sharing office (207 Scott Library), the Interlibrary Loans office at Steacie (102P Steacie Library) or the Circulation Desk at Bronfman or Frost Library.

Items not picked up will be kept for two weeks or until the due date. Books will then be returned to the lending library. Articles will be mailed to you and the charges posted to your library fines account. Please return material in person to one of the above pick-up locations.

The Resource Sharing office in 207 Scott has an after-hours Book Drop for Resource Sharing material. Please do not return fragile or over-sized material in this book drop.

If you are unable to pick up or return material during our office hours, please contact the appropriate location as it may be possible to make alternate arrangements.

PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

If you require assistance with pickup or return of interlibrary loan material, please contact us and we will try to make suitable arrangements.