All current SU faculty, staff and students may request materials through Interlibrary Loan.

Eligible users also include the following special borrower types:

1. Patron Level Borrower ($50 annual fee)
2. Wor-Wic Community College student ($15 fee per request in additional to any fees charged from the lending library)
3. Wor-Wic Community College Faculty
4. Temporary guest researcher/borrower approved by the Dean of Libraries & Instructional Resources

The library reserves the right to limit student requests to 15 per day.

Patron Level Special Borrowers are allowed 10-12 requests per year. Once that limit is reached, a $15.00 fee per request will be charged in addition to any fees assessed by the lending library.

• The average turnaround time for books is 1-2 weeks. Articles are usually received within 1 week.
• Out-of-state and hard to locate materials may take longer.
• Materials from Maryland libraries generally arrive within 5 working days.
• Rush requests are not available through Interlibrary Loan.

The Interlibrary Loan Department cannot guarantee when a requested item will arrive. Please indicate when you will no longer need an item on the online request forms.

Most requests can be filled for the patron at no cost. If the item can only be obtained from a lender who charges a fee, Interlibrary Loan staff will contact the patron before the item is requested.

Patrons are responsible for any fees or charges assessed by the lending library. Lending fees must be paid at the time of pickup.

Please do not rely on the Interlibrary Loan system to obtain your required textbooks.

It is our policy to cancel all requests for required texts, since many libraries will not supply them, and most ILL loan periods are shorter than one month.

Salisbury University email is the official method of communication from the library. All notices will be sent to your Salisbury University email account.

Books & Dissertations

• Patrons will be notified by SU email as soon as the requested material arrives.
• Items may be picked up at the Circulation Desk on the first floor of Blackwell Library.
• Items not picked up promptly will be returned to the lending library.
• Information on any fees, due dates, and loan restrictions will be included with the material.
• Failure to pick up requested items may result in a denial of service for future requests.
• Distance education students within the state of Maryland may pick up books at one of the USMAI libraries that is closest to them.

Photocopies of Articles & Essays

The lending library sends articles electronically or by fax/mail. When requests are placed for our patrons, we list a preference for electronic delivery, with fax as a second option and mail as a last resort.

• If the article is received without a fee, it is immediately delivered to the patron's Interlibrary Loan account and a notification is sent to the patron's SU email. Sometimes the article will be sent directly to the patron's SU email.
• If the article is received with a fee that must be paid by the patron, the patron is notified by SU email or phone, and the article is printed and left at the Circulation Desk.
• SU students taking courses at Chesapeake Community College can specify pickup at ESHEC (Eastern Shore Higher Education Center).
• Information on any fees will be included with the material.
• Failure to pick up requested items may result in a denial of service for future requests.

Why didn't a library send the item I requested?

There are many reasons a library might not fill a request. Usually it's because the material is checked out, missing, or otherwise unavailable at the time of your request. In some cases, the item may be "non-circulating," which means that it is restricted to library use only. Sometimes the problem is an error in the citation information. Occasionally, the owner considers the item too valuable or too fragile to lend. Often, libraries do not give us an exact reason why a particular request was not filled.

The library that owns the item sets the loan period. Renewal requests should be made 5 days prior to the due date on the book's cover. For more information contact the Interlibrary Loan office:

• By email at illoans@salisbury.edu
• By telephone at (410) 543-6077
• Stop by the Circulation Desk on the first floor of Blackwell Library

NOTE: The lending library determines whether or not to renew the item. If the item is not renewed, it must be returned to the Circulation Desk by the original due date.

Items must be returned by the due date on the book's cover. Any overdue charges or lost material charges assessed by the lending library must be paid by the patron immediately or Interlibrary Loan privileges may be revoked.

Borrow Through Interlibrary Loan

Dissertations and theses generally are not available through Interlibrary Loan. Some libraries will loan these if they have a second copy that circulates. Loan fees average around $15.00 to $25.00 and delivery could take several weeks.

Purchase from University Microfilms International (UMI)

1. Locate the title in Dissertations Express or the Dissertations Abstract (FirstSearch) database at Blackwell Library (ask at the Research Help Desk for access).
2. Order online from UMI with your credit card for mail deliver, or
3. Call UMI at (800) 521-3042 or (800) 521-0600 ext. 3781, or send a fax to (800) 308-1586

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research". If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use", that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.