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Interlibrary Loan Rules

Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary & EZBorrow Loan Rules

Interlibrary loan is intended to broaden access to materials for SHU researchers by borrowing items from other libraries. There are two systems for patrons, EZBorrow and ILLiad. EZBorrow is for book borrowing, while ILLiad is for both books and articles.

Interlibrary Loan is available to the following patrons:

  • Faculty (active and retired), emeriti, seminarians, staff and administrators at SHU
  • Currently enrolled SHU students
  • Online (distance) or off-campus students have the same access to the same interlibrary loan services as currently enrolled on-campus students. Please contact the Interlibrary Loan Office (interlib@shu.edu) for assistance with borrowing material from SHU Libraries' collections, or from other libraries.

Seton Hall University Library will not borrow or lend the following materials via interlibrary loan:

  • Reference or Reserve Books
  • Whole issues or volumes of current periodicals
  • Books in heavy use
  • Ebooks

Conditions for Borrowing:

  • Before submitting a request, please check to determine whether the material is already available in the SHU Library's collections. We will not request physical copies of Ebooks held by the library or items that are on Reserve or otherwise non-circulating. 
  • Specific articles from journals may be requested. Requests for several articles from the same issue of a journal may represent a substantial portion of the publication and may be subject to agreed-upon Fair Use guidelines.
  • Duplicate requests within a month of each other from the same patron will be canceled.
  • Up to 10 mediated interlibrary loan requests per patron per week will be processed. EZBorrow is an unmediated requesting process, except when requests are made through ILLiad.
  • Charges incurred for books and photocopies borrowed by SHU will be subsidized by the University Libraries for up to $20 per transaction. Charges in excess of $20 per transaction will be the responsibility of the SHU patron. The library will only pay up for $750 per fiscal year per scholar for Interlibrary Loans. In either case patrons will be advised of potential charges and asked whether (s)he wishes to proceed with the transactions.
  • Patrons who repeatedly do not pick-up ILL requests may have their borrowing privileges revoked.
  • The fine rate for overdue ILL books is $1.00 a day.
  • Patrons are not charged for normal wear and tear on library materials. However, the following conditions do not constitute normal wear and tear and may result in repair or replacement charges (charges are determined based on the particular circumstances of each case):
    • Wet or moldy books
    • Books damaged by food stains, oily or sticky residue
    • Books missing pages or covers
    • Books containing marking by pencil, ink or highlight marker
    • Books showing tears, cuts, graffiti or other unusual damage
  • Patrons will be charged for lost or damaged items. These fees are determined by the lending library. Borrowers with outstanding ILL fines may have their ILL privileges revoked. A good faith effort will be made to contact the patron to resolve all outstanding items and fees. After that all open fines will be forwarded to the Bursar.
  • Patrons who repeatedly abuse Interlibrary Loan will have their accounts suspended per the discretion of the library. Actions that constitute abuse of Interlibrary Loan:
    • ​Keeping items flagrantly beyond due date
    • Unresponsiveness to emails requesting items be returned
    • Returning items in poor condition
    • Making multiple requests for the same item
    • Repeatedly failing to pick up requested materials
  • Do not make requests for other people on your account. Requests made through your account are your responsibility and charges will be accessed to your account. If you are assisting a faculty member with research, you can be added to his/her account as a proxy. Please email us for additional information.

Any questions? Contact us at interlib@shu.edu or 973-761-9441