LibGuides: Interlibrary Loan: Interlibrary Loan Policies

Requesting Items

Log in to Interlibrary Loan Here

Faculty and staff may request on-campus delivery for items already in Woodward Library's collection by filling out the On-Campus Delivery Form.

Check Availability First

Please check the Woodward Library catalog and online databases before submitting an interlibrary loan request. The library may already own the item or document that you need.

For books, book chapters, DVDs, and other media, check the library catalog.

For journal articles, search for the journal title in BrowZine.

Theses and dissertations may be found in the library catalog or one of our relevant databases.

For music scores, consult the library's music scores and sheet music guide.

Books and articles can also be requested through WorldCat. If the library does not own the resource, a Request Item through Interlibrary Loan icon will appear. This icon will automatically transfer you to your interlibrary loan account

Interlibrary Loan Policies

Textbook Policies

Woodward Library is unable to borrow textbooks or other materials required for courses offered at Austin Peay State University.

Purchasing textbooks is part of usual college expenses, along with paying tuition, dorm/rental expenses, etc.
Very few libraries purchase textbooks, which means most textbooks are not available to lend or borrow.
Because new editions of textbooks are published so frequently, even fewer libraries have the most recent editions.
Of those libraries that do purchase textbooks, the textbook collection is usually reserved for their campus-use only and are not loaned to other libraries.
Loaned books usually take on to two weeks to arrive, so you would already be behind in your class work and reading by the time they arrive.
You would only get to keep a textbook borrowed through ILL for about three weeks.
- Loan due dates are set by the lending library, not Woodward Library.
- Renewals are not always allowed by the lending library for loaned books.
- When a renewal is allowed, it usually is only allowed once for a brief extension of another one to two weeks.
Failure to return items when due can lead to:
- You being charged by the lending library for the full cost of the textbook PLUS a processing fee.
- Your access to Interlibrary Loan and all Woodward Library privileges being suspended until the item is returned and/or any fees charged by the lending library are paid.
- Your grades, class registration, transcripts, and graduation being blocked until the item is returned and/or fees charged by the lending library are paid.
- Woodward Library not being able to borrow from the lending library again for any other students.
Though interlibrary loans do not cost you anything, they do cost the library around $20 per request. The library simply does not have the funding to request hundreds of student textbooks, each of which will only be able to be kept for a few weeks.

Policy adapted from University of Mississippi Libraries.
Adopted October 14, 2019.

Options for Students Who Cannot Afford Textbooks

There are a few options available to students who cannot afford to purchase textbooks from the campus bookstore.

Some faculty members place personal copies of their course materials on reserve at Woodward Library's circulation/reserve desk on the main floor of the library. These materials are available for short-term checkouts. Search the reserves by course number or faculty name here.

Many textbooks can be purchased second hand. Search for your books on the following websites:

Text for Vets provides textbooks on a first-come first-serve basis. Preference is given to veterans, active duty, reservist, national guardsman, retirees, ROTC students, and family members. Once the semester starts, distribution is open to all APSU students.

If you need financial aid help, grants, loans, job information, or other financial assistance, please visit:

Borrowing

Anything of an informative value may be borrowed, irrespective of format, subject to the provisions, limitations, and restrictions of the lending library, the National Interlibrary Loan Code, and the Tennessee State Interlibrary Loan Code.
Current students, faculty, administration, and staff of APSU are able to request materials through Interlibrary Loan.
There is no charge for requests by APSU faculty, staff, administration, and students. Borrowers are encouraged to use discretion and request items needed for research and class assignments.
A fine of $1 per day past the due date will be assessed for all monographs (books, DVDs, etc.). This does not include PDFs of journal articles or book chapters that are delivered via email. Fines are applicable for all categories of users.
Woodward Library observes and holds in strict compliance the Copyright Low are the United States, Public Law 94-553, and the CONTU Guidelines for interlibrary arrangements.

Lending

The Woodward Library's resources are available to other libraries through Interlibrary Loan.
Following a determination that the requested mateiral is not immediately required for its primary clientele, defined as students, faculty, administration, and staff of Austin Peay State University, requests are filled giving priority first to Tennessee libraries, then to southeastern libraries, including Arkansas, defined as the region served by SOLINET or contiguous to Tennessee, and then to libraries outside the SOLINET region.
The loan period is three weeks from receipt of material, subject to recall, with one renewal subject to the approval of the Interlibrary Loan librarian.
The following are not normally loaned: reference materials, reserve materials, audiovisual materials with the exception of designated videocassettes, periodicals (bound or microfilm) excluding newspapers on microfilm, University Archives & Special Collections materials, and non-circulating federal government publications.