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Search for articles across multiple library databases

To find a journal, magazine, or newspaper article in the most popular databases in your subject area, enter your search term(s) and choose a subject from the pull-down menu. To view a complete list of indexes and databases available at Rutgers, click on View all databases. For more information see "How Do I Find an Article?"

View all databases

To find books and more in the Library Catalog, enter your term(s) and select a search type in the pull-down menu. For more information see "How Do I Find a Book?"

To find a print or electronic journal in the Rutgers collections, enter its title or keywords in the title and select the appropriate search type in the pull-down menu. For more information, see "How Do I Find a Journal?"

To find audio or video material in the Rutgers collections, enter one or more keywords and select the appropriate search type in the pull-down menu. For more information, see "How do I find audio or video materials?"

To find a list of books, textbooks, and electronic articles placed on course reserve by your instructor, enter your instructor's last name and search. You can also use the pull-down menu to search by course title or number.

Interlibrary Loan Service: Borrowing (Students, Faculty and Staff)

Interlibrary loan services expand the resources available to the Rutgers community beyond those at the university. The Rutgers University Libraries maintain memberships in consortia and have special cooperative arrangements with libraries and other organizations to provide interlibrary loan services for Rutgers faculty, students, and staff. Current partners include OCLC, the world's largest library cooperative; SHARES, an international sharing partnership of research libraries;), the Virtual Academic Library Network of New Jersey(VALE); LibraryLinkNJ, the New Jersey Library Cooperative; the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO); the Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortia, Inc. (PALCI); RapidILL, a resource sharing system for fast article delivery; the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA); and the Center for Research Libraries (CRL).

Materials available on loan from other institutions may include books, newspapers, documents, periodical articles, dissertations, and similar materials that are needed locally for academic purposes. Electronic documents and photocopies received from other institutions are converted to PDF files and delivered electronically to user's desktops.

Eligibility

Rutgers University students, faculty, and staff may use this service including students, faculty, and staff at remote locations. Students, faculty, and staff teaching or taking courses on the Camden Urban Campus of Camden County College or Rowan University; and UMDNJ students, faculty, housestaff, and staff covered by the reciprocal agreement between Rutgers University Libraries and the University Libraries of UMDNJ, are also eligible for Rutgers interlibrary loan service.

Law school students, faculty, and staff receive interlibrary loan services directly through the law libraries. Guest borrowers receive interlibrary loan services through their local libraries.

How to Place an Interlibrary Loan Request

Please verify that the item you request is not owned by Rutgers before submitting an interlibrary loan request. You can do this by checking the and/or government documents card catalogs. Search also in PALCI's (Pennsylvania Academic Libraries Consortium, Inc.) online catalog where you can place E-ZBorrow requests for quick delivery of books not available at Rutgers.

Consult a reference librarian. The reference librarian may be able to determine that the material you want is located in one of the Rutgers libraries, is available in another form, including online full text, is in an uncataloged collection, or is available through another document delivery service. Reference librarians also welcome the opportunity to assist in finding other relevant materials that are available at Rutgers. In addition, the reference librarian will lend assistance in completing the request form.

Interlibrary loan request forms are available under DELIVERY AND INTERLIBRARY LOAN on the Libraries' website. or by clicking on the [ILL] button in the Library Catalog. On the Interlibrary Loan and Article Delivery Services page, login with your NetID and password. Users who are eligible for interlibrary loan but do not have a NetID may login with their library barcode and PIN. First time users will be asked to register. On the main menu page choose the appropriate form and fill in all items of information called for on the form. Avoid using abbreviations in authors' names or journal titles.

Guidelines for Placing Requests

Submit requests at least fourteen days in advance of the time the materials will be needed. An interlibrary loan takes time. Items that can be borrowed from a library in New Jersey or the New York metropolitan area usually arrive within fourteen days. It is often necessary to request material from a library outside of the metropolitan area, or from several libraries, before an available copy canArticles that can be supplied by a member of the RapidILL library consortium usually arrive within 24 hours.

Articles that can be supplied by a member of the RapidILL library consortium usually arrive within 24 hours.

The conditions of interlibrary loan are set by the National Interlibrary Loan Code of the American Library Association. The Rutgers library guidelines reflect those principles.

Interlibrary loan requests will be accepted for material not owned by the Libraries or:

  • at the Camden or Newark law library if your pickup library is on a different geographical campus
  • listed in the Library Catalog as "MISSING"
  • the number of holds on an item in the Library Catalog is greater than the number of eligible copies
  • long overdue and billed for replacement
  • at the bindery or in poor condition

Interlibrary loan requests cannot be accepted for materials that are:

  • on reserve or on reference on the same geographical campus: Camden, Newark, or New Brunswick/Piscataway (all libraries)
  • "IN-PROCESS" that have been received at a Rutgers library or in central acquisitions (use the "Request Article/Other" option in the Library Catalog to request "IN-PROCESS" books.)
  • more than twice for the same title and same person within the same calendar year
  • in non-Roman alphabets without transliteration
  • textbooks
  • test preparation materials (GMAT, AP, LSAT, MCAT, etc.)
  • e-books

Status Checks and Cancellations

You can check on the status of your requests by logging on to Interlibrary Loan and Article Delivery . You will be presented with a list of your outstanding requests on the main menu. You can also click "Outstanding Requests" under "View" on the left menu bar at any time. Click on a request's transaction number to view its "Transaction Information." Scroll down to "Tracking" where you will see the date/time and status of the request every time it is updated by interlibrary loan staff.

To cancel a request select [Cancel Request] at the top of its "Transaction Information." Cancelled requests will be listed under "Cancelled Requests." You will also receive email notification whenever an interlibrary loan request is canceled by the Libraries and it will appear in your "Cancelled Requests" queue.

Borrowing Conditions

The loan period for most interlibrary loan books is four weeks. Books will be held for fourteen days and if not picked up will be returned to the lending library. The lending library sets the loan period, including renewal policies, for the item and may also set special conditions for on-site use, such as "in library use only." The Rutgers University Libraries abide by all conditions established by the lending library.

Interlibrary loan services are based on reciprocal and cooperative agreements with other libraries. These partnerships were formed with the understanding that the borrowing library and individual accept the responsibility to treat the borrowed materials as they would the property of their own library and to return them within established time-frames in good condition. Failure to do so jeopardizes the Rutgers University Libraries' ability to continue cooperative arrangements with these institutions in the future.

Renewals

You can renew most interlibrary loan books yourself for one additional 28-day loan period in your Library Catalog "MY ACCOUNT" file. The 28-day renewal loan takes effect on the day you make the renewal; 28 days are not added to your original due date unless you wait to renew on that date. You cannot renew interlibrary loan materials that are designated "No Renewal" that have been recalled by the lending institution, for which the renewal limit has been reached, or that are not renewed within seven (7) days from the initial due date.

Recalls

Interlibrary loan materials checked out to you may be recalled by the lending library. Rutgers University Libraries recall fines will apply if the item is not returned within the newly established due date, seven days from the date of recall. Your borrowing privileges will be suspended if recall fines are owed or interlibrary loan books are overdue.

Fines

Interlibrary loan materials are subject to the same fines as materials owned by Rutgers University Libraries. Overdue Recall fines are assessed at $5 per day up to a maximum fine of $50. Replacement charges for lost materials are assessed at $102 per item when interlibrary loan materials are seven days overdue. You may pay fines for interlibrary loan materials in the following manner:

  • by check or cash at the circulation desks of Alexander, Chang, Douglass, Kilmer, Library of Science and Medicine, Camden, Dana (Newark) libraries,
  • by RU Express card at Alexander Library, or
  • by credit card at a cashier's office if you are on academic hold.

The University reserves the right to hold transcripts and diplomas if you do not pay your obligations, and to forward delinquent accounts to collection agencies and to levy a collection fee.

Fees

There is no charge to you for interlibrary loan unless the cost of the loan/photocopy exceeds $25. You will be notified before the request is made if there are charges to you beyond the $25 cap.

Notification and Delivery

You will receive email notification at your email address on file with the libraries when interlibrary books arrive and are being held for you at your pickup library. You will also be notified about book availability in your "MY ACCOUNT" file in the Library Catalog under "Review Library Catalog Requests, Holds, and Recalls." If you requested delivery to an off-campus pickup site interlibrary loan books will be checked out to you before shipment.

When your articles arrive you will be notified at the email address currently registered in your Interlibrary Loan and Article Delivery Services user information record. To view your articles, log on to Interlibrary Loan and Article Delivery Services and under "View" select "Electronically Received Articles."

Questions

Have a question about an interlibrary loan request? Use the Ask a Librarian service to submit questions. Interlibrary loan services staff will respond to your question via email.