Services To supplement the Library’s collection the Sarasota County Library System utilizes a service called Interlibrary Loan (ILL). ILL services are available at all county libraries. See a reference librarian for assistance. Library patrons may also request materials directly through ILL online by using AlleyCat, the Anywhere-Anytime Library Project. Public, academic and special libraries in the United States and throughout the world share their materials with other libraries for their patrons' use through this voluntary service. By participating in the interlibrary loan system, Sarasota County Libraries are able to borrow for our patrons materials unavailable in our local system and likewise loan our materials to other libraries whose patrons need them. The participating libraries are bound by established ILL standards and procedures that govern the borrowing and lending of materials. The libraries are also required to abide by all U.S. and international copyright laws. The Sarasota County Libraries are subject to the guidelines, procedures and restrictions set up by the Florida Library Information Network (FLIN), the Southeast Library Information Network (SOLINET) and the Tampa Bay Library Consortium (TBLC). Policies Types of Materials Generally all types of materials, at all intellectual levels, may be requested on interlibrary loan. Lending libraries, however, may and often do place restrictions on what they will loan and on the use of specific types of materials. These decisions are entirely up to the lending library. Books are generally loaned and articles within newspapers or journals are photocopied. Copies are not normally intended to be returned by the borrowing library to the lender. Although all libraries are encouraged to loan all media, types of which may have restrictions or be unavailable include: reference books (encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, directories) rare, fragile, valuable or unique books or manuscripts genealogical indices current best sellers and/or those with recurring demand course and project materials entire issues of periodicals musical scores microfilm videotapes, dvds kits, loose-leaf materials, pop-up books The ILL office will not submit requests for: materials owned by the Sarasota County Library System new books published within the current copyright year Authorized Users Any current Sarasota County Library System library card holder may request materials through interlibrary loan. Request Processing Interlibrary loan requests are input into the online system immediately upon receipt of the request by a Reference Librarian at any of the Library System’s eight libraries. Complete bibliographic information for the requested item is required. Patrons can also personally input the request directly through the online interlibrary loan system. The length of time involved in obtaining the request from a lending library can vary considerably depending on the item and how readily available the material is. Times can range from one to six weeks and sometimes longer. The Library System cannot guarantee when an item will be received. The majority of items are received within three weeks. Unless a request indicates a date after which the item is no longer needed, ILL will attempt to obtain the material for a period of six months. Patrons will be notified if a material is unobtainable. When materials are received the patron is notified by the library holding the item. E-mail notification is also available. The material is held for the patron until the date it is due back to the lending library. Materials are held at the Circulation Desk unless notified otherwise. The patron must bring his/her valid library card to check out the interlibrary loan material. The patron must return the interlibrary loan material to the Circulation Desk of the library where it was checked out. Failure to pick up an interlibrary loan material by the hold cut-off date will result in the material being returned and the patron restricted from re-ordering the item for one month. Loan Periods The lending library determines the amount of time that a particular material can be borrowed therefore there is not a standard loan length. Generally materials can be checked out for two to three weeks. The due date and any accompanying restrictions will be clearly marked for the patron on the material when the borrower checks it out. Materials must be returned by the due date indicated. A borrower's failure to comply with the conditions of a loan could jeopardize his or her interlibrary loan privileges and those of the Sarasota County Library System as a whole. Renewals One-week renewals may sometimes be granted in exceptional cases. The lending library determines whether a material may be renewed. Permission to renew an interlibrary loan material must be requested at least four days prior to the due date. Either the ILL Office at the Venice Library or an ILL processor at the library where the interlibrary loan request originated must be contacted for permission. Multiple renewals are not permitted. Re-orders Patrons may request a material be reordered one time after six months. Multiple re-orders of a material are not permitted. Borrowing Limits The Sarasota County Library System limits the number of holds a patron can have at any one time to 3 items. Each Interlibrary loan request generates one hold. Therefore no more than 3 ILL items may be requested at any one time. Note: The “hold“ limit includes holds on materials within the Sarasota County Library System as well as interlibrary loan materials coming from outside the System. Example: If a patron has one hold on a current best seller that Sarasota County owns, then that patron would be limited to 2 interlibrary loan requests, which makes a total of 3 holds. The Interlibrary Loan Office reserves the right to establish priorities of service in instances where the number of ILL requests received from a single patron might adversely affect the service offered to others. All attempts will be made to process interlibrary loan requests in a fair and equitable manner. Cost and Fees In most cases ILL services are free of charge to library patrons. The lending and borrowing libraries absorb the processing costs involved in filling interlibrary loan requests. In some cases, however, the lending library may assess a special fee for the use of particular items or for photocopies or for shipping and handling. In this case, the patron will be notified of any charges and must be prepared to pay any costs or charges before the material is processed. The patron will be required to pay replacement charges if any material borrowed through interlibrary loan is damaged or lost. The patron will be restricted from borrowing any additional materials until the charges are paid in full.