Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services

REQUEST AN ITEM THROUGH INTERLIBRARY LOAN

Interlibrary Loan expands the range of available research materials. Materials not owned by the Binghamton University Libraries may be obtained from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan. Materials held by the Libraries can be delivered to your preferred library location through Document Delivery. You can request an item through Document Delivery Services via Find It!

Required textbooks for Binghamton University Courses cannot be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan. Instead, visit the Libraries' Course Reserves tool to see if your textbook is available. 

We cannot obtain full eBooks through Interlibrary Loan, due to licensing restrictions.

If you plan on requesting more than 25 items in one week's time, please contact the Interlibrary Loan Department and/or your subject librarian.

Who May Borrow

Binghamton University faculty, students, staff, and research associates are eligible. If you are not affiliated with Binghamton University, and would like to borrow materials, please contact your local public library to submit a formal ILL request. 

You must have a valid Binghamton University ID and a University email account (@binghamton.edu) in order to log in.

Delivery

Physical ILL materials typically take one to two weeks to arrive; electronic materials may take a week to arrive. Special formats or unique titles may take longer. Document Delivery materials typically arrive within 2 business days.

You will receive an email when your materials are available to be picked up. ILL and Document Delivery materials cannot be shipped to residences or offices.

  • ILL materials not picked up by their due date will be returned to the lending institution.
  • Document Delivery requests not picked up 10 business days after notification will be returned to the shelf. 
  • PDF's delivered to your ILLiad account will be available for 30 days. 

Loan Periods and Renewals

The lending library determines loan lengths and restrictions on the use of materials. Typically, loan lengths range from 4 to 16 weeks. 

You may request a renewal in-person or online via your library account, unless the material is indicated as non-renewable. Renewals are at the discretion of the lending library; if a renewal is denied, you will receive an email.

Library Use Only

Some materials may come with Library Use Only (LUO) restrictions. LUO materials are rare or fragile materials lent to us by other institutions, and may only be used in the Bartle Library.

If an item has LUO restrictions, our office will contact you through email with further information before obtaining the material.

Please note that microform requests have LUO restrictions. 

Limitations

The following cannot be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan: 

  • eBooks 
  • Textbooks required for a Binghamton University course

We may have difficulties or be unable to borrow the following materials: 

  • Textbooks (not required for a Binghamton University course) 
  • New materials
  • Test preparation materials
  • Software
  • Reference books or whole journal issues
  • Audio/Visual (including DVD's and CD's)
  • Rare books and dissertations

The Libraries must comply with U.S. Copyright Law and publisher licenses. After more than five articles from a journal published within the last five years are requested, additional copyright fees may apply.

Covered and Additional Costs

Costs may be assessed by the lending library or through copyright royalties. The Libraries will pay up to $30.00 per request. Patrons will be contacted if the fee exceeds this amount. If a patron agrees to pay a fee, it will be added to their QuikPay account once the material is available.

Borrowing Libraries / External Borrowers

The Binghamton University Libraries lends materials to other libraries. Please submit all requests through OCLC.

If your ILL office doesn't participate in ILL through OCLC,  please email us at mainill@binghamton.edu so we may create an account for you.  Please include the following: 

  • Library name
  • Shipping/billing address
  • Odyssey address (if applicable)
  • Name, phone number, and email for your contact person.

Non-OCLC Libraries may log into their account here

Individuals interested in borrowing materials from our collection must place a formal request through their college/university library, or, through their local public library.