It is possible to receive a broad range of materials through Interlibrary Loan, including books, articles, documents, videos, music scores, and more. However, academic libraries have different lending policies for their collection - meaning that materials some libraries are willing and able to share are not necessarily willing or available to be shared by all libraries. As a result, finding a library to respond to the request may take time or may not be possible at all if there are no lending libraries - but the Collier Library has resources available to purchase items in these cases. When in doubt, send the request and we will work with you to explore all options for getting those materials to you!
The time it takes to fill a request depends on the rarity of the material and where it is located. The time needed to search, process, and receive a response for each request is usually between two and four business days. Due to journal embargoes and the nature of circulating books there are no guarantees that your request can be filled. We will let you know in a timely manner if your request cannot be filled. Requests sent out of state take longer to fulfill. Hard copies located in the Southeast and all items delivered digitally should be available within five business days.
Please note: The demand for interlibrary loans increases a few weeks before midterms and finals. While our staff always strives to process each request as quickly as possible, some slowdown may occur. You should request early and request often!
Any request filled internally, without the assistance of other libraries, is considered a "Document Delivery" request. These could be open/free/institutional access journals, dissertations we acquire directly from the author, scans from books we already own, etc.
Document Delivery requests are fulfilled and provided to the user in the same exact way as interlibrary loans through Tipasa.
