Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Items not listed in the CCLS catalog may be requested through resource sharing from other libraries in Pennsylvania or throughout the United States through interlibrary loan. ILL is coordinated through the ILL Office at Chester County Library, which processes all ILL requests from System member libraries. Any customer with a valid CCLS library card may submit a request for an out-of-system ILL, however an ILL request will not be initiated if there are fines equal to or exceeding $10 on the customer's library record. The ILL Office seeks to obtain ILL items free of charge. However, some items may only be available with a processing fee. Where fees apply, the ILL transaction will not be completed until the willingness of the customer to pay the fee has been ascertained. With the exception of microformats, all material borrowed from outside of CCLS must be picked up from and returned to the library from which it was requested.
Limitations on Items Requested Through ILL
Software, computer games, and e-books are not requested or lent outside of CCLS. Unless they are in reprint form, items published prior to 1921 may not be requested. Customers should be discouraged from requesting material published within the past 6 months. Microfilm and microfiche formats may be requested, however items in these formats will be restricted to "in library use only," and may only be viewed at the Chester County Library where the required viewing equipment is available. Lending libraries occasionally restrict the use of their printed materials to "in library use only." Arrangements can then be made for the customer to use the material within the requesting library over the period of the loan.
Adopted 11/21/2002; Last revised 4/28/2011
AY 5/18/11
