Interlibrary Loan

With Inter­li­brary Loan (ILL), you can use your DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library (DCPL) card to request items that DCPL does not own from oth­er library sys­tems, such as books, arti­cles or microfilm.

Items owned by DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library, audio­vi­su­al mate­ri­als, books pub­lished with­in the cur­rent cal­en­dar year or in high demand and Ref­er­ence books are not eli­gi­ble for ILL.

To request an item through ILL, vis­it your local library branch to fill out an Inter­li­brary Loan Request Form in per­son, or make your request online. You may also print the request form and fill it out before you come to the library branch. You must have a cur­rent, unblocked DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library card.

ILL Fines and Fees

• $3.00 per item plus any addi­tion­al charges imposed by the lend­ing library, due upon pick­up of the item. The ILL fee helps cov­er costs incurred in search­ing, order­ing, and return­ing ILL materials.
• $1.00 per day late fee
• Sev­en weeks after an ILL book becomes late, a $100.00 fee is added to the bor­row­er’s account. The fee will remain or be adjust­ed based on the lend­ing library’s charge for lost or dam­aged materials.

The Library’s pol­i­cy on Inter­li­brary Loan is available.

Fre­quent­ly Asked Ques­tions about Inter­li­brary Loan

• What is Inter­li­brary Loan (ILL)?
• How do I request mate­ri­als through the ILL Department?
• Is there a lim­it to the num­ber of requests I can make?
• May I com­bine my requests on one form?
• How soon will my request arrive?
• How will I know when my book or arti­cle is available?
• How much does this ser­vice cost?
• How long may I keep ILL materials?
• Can I renew ILL materials?
• What are the late fees for an ILL?
• May I return an ILL in the bookdrop?
• What if I lose or dam­age ILL materials?
• Are there cer­tain items I can­not request through ILL?
• Do I have to return arti­cles or pho­to­copies that I receive through ILL?
• How do I can­cel an ILL request?
• Have addi­tion­al questions?

What is Inter­li­brary Loan (ILL)?

ILL is a ser­vice that allows you to use your DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library (DCPL) card to request items that DCPL does not own, such as books, arti­cles or micro­film, from oth­er library systems.

How do I request mate­ri­als through the ILL Department?

Requests may be made two ways:

• Online, using the elec­tron­ic form
• In per­son at a branch, using the paper form

Is there a lim­it to the num­ber of requests I can make?

You may have up to three active requests in process at the same time. This includes requests already sub­mit­ted for items not yet received. Requests are con­sid­ered active until items are returned to the library and checked in.

May I com­bine my requests on one form?

No. Com­plete a sep­a­rate request for each book, micro­film series, or arti­cle* you are requesting.

*Please note that entire issues of peri­od­i­cals or bound vol­umes of peri­od­i­cals may not be bor­rowed. Also, copy­right guide­lines restrict us from request­ing more than one arti­cle from any sin­gle issue of a peri­od­i­cal. If you need mul­ti­ple arti­cles from the same issue, micro­film may be a bet­ter option.

How soon will my request arrive?

Allow at least two weeks. Arrival times vary and depend on the avail­abil­i­ty of the item and the time it takes the U.S. mail to deliv­er it. Some requests may take four to six weeks to arrive.

How will I know when my book or arti­cle is available?

The library branch you des­ig­nate as your pick­up loca­tion will noti­fy you by tele­phone or email when your book or arti­cle is avail­able. If you do not pro­vide a local tele­phone num­ber on the ILL request, you will receive all noti­fi­ca­tions by email.

How much does this ser­vice cost?

There is a $3.00 fee for each ILL request filled by a lend­ing library. If a request can­not be filled, no fees will be assessed. If a loan can­not be com­plet­ed through a library with­in the DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library’s (DCPL) shar­ing net­works, addi­tion­al fees may be required. Depend­ing on the lend­ing library, addi­tion­al fees may range from $10-$25. You will be con­tact­ed if a lender will charge more than you indi­cate you are will­ing to pay. All fees are due at the time of pickup.*

*Please remem­ber that you are respon­si­ble for pay­ing the ILL fee even if you do not pick up the item.

How long may I keep ILL materials?

The length of time varies. Each indi­vid­ual lend­ing library or insti­tu­tion deter­mines the loan period.

Can I renew ILL materials?

In most cas­es you will be able to renew your ILL mate­ri­als. (If the lend­ing library does not grant renew­al requests, this will be indi­cat­ed on the ILL book band includ­ed with your item.) To request a renew­al, please con­tact your local branch or the ILL Depart­ment at the Decatur Library at least five days before the book is due. ILL renewals may not be made through the library website.

It may take up to two busi­ness days before a lend­ing library responds to a renew­al request. Renewals are not guaranteed.

Are there late fees for an ILL?

Unlike most of our oth­er mate­ri­als, ILL items do accrue late fees. The late fee for ILL mate­ri­als is $1.00 per day, per item.

May I return an ILL in the bookdrop?

No, ILL returns may not be placed in the book­drop. Items must be returned in per­son to the Cir­cu­la­tion Desk at any DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library branch.

What if I lose or dam­age ILL materials?

You will be billed for lost and dam­aged mate­ri­als at replace­ment costs estab­lished by the lend­ing library. Sev­en weeks after an ILL book becomes late, a $100.00 fee is added to the bor­row­er’s account. The fee will remain or be adjust­ed based on the lend­ing library’s charge for lost or dam­aged materials.

Are there cer­tain items I can­not request through ILL?

The ILL Depart­ment is not able to bor­row cer­tain types of items. You can­not request the following:*

• Books pub­lished dur­ing the cur­rent cal­en­dar year
• Audio­vi­su­al mate­ri­als (for exam­ple, DVDs and audiobooks)
• Mate­ri­als only avail­able from libraries out­side the U.S.
• Entire issues of peri­od­i­cals (or bound vol­umes of periodicals)
• Unpub­lished works, such as con­fer­ence papers (with the excep­tion of ERIC documents)
• More than one arti­cle from any sin­gle issue of a peri­od­i­cal. (If you need mul­ti­ple arti­cles from the same issue, micro­film may be a bet­ter option.)

*Please keep in mind that libraries only lend their cir­cu­lat­ing mate­ri­als through ILL. High demand books, ref­er­ence mate­ri­als, uni­ver­si­ty course reserves, and geneal­o­gy or spe­cial col­lec­tions mate­ri­als gen­er­al­ly can­not be bor­rowed. We can request pho­to­copies of excerpts from these types of mate­ri­als (for exam­ple, an ency­clo­pe­dia entry, a book chap­ter, or infor­ma­tion regard­ing a spe­cif­ic per­son from a geneal­o­gy book).

Do I have to return arti­cles or pho­to­copies that I receive through ILL?

No. All pho­to­copied mate­ri­als are yours to keep, but please remem­ber to keep copy­right restric­tions in mind. All pho­to­copied mate­ri­als received through ILL may only be used for pri­vate study, schol­ar­ship, or research.

How do I can­cel an ILL request?

Con­tact your local branch or the ILL Depart­ment at the Decatur Library. Once the mate­r­i­al is en route from the lend­ing library to fill your request, you are respon­si­ble for the ILL fee to cov­er return ship­ping fees.

Have addi­tion­al questions?

Email the ILL Depart­ment at ill@​dekalblibrary.​org.

ILL Online Request

Please spec­i­fy type of ILL request:

• Book request
• Arti­cle request
• Micro­film request