Interlibrary Loan Requests

Purpose: Interlibrary loan is a service which seeks to obtain materials that are not owned by our library. Materials needed for study and research, such as books and periodical articles, may be requested through interlibrary loan and are borrowed from other Mercer libraries and other libraries in the United States.

Who May Use Interlibrary Loan: Mercer law students, law faculty, law staff, and attorneys and paralegals who have borrowing privileges with our library may use our interlibrary loan service. Other Mercer students, faculty and staff are asked to obtain their interlibrary loan services through the Mercer main library, the Mercer medical library, or Swilley Library. Members of the general public are asked to obtain their interlibrary loan services through their local public library.

Materials Usually Available: One-volume treatises, copies of periodical articles, and copies made from microfiche or microfilm are usually available through interlibrary loan.

Materials Not Usually Available: Rare books, multi-volume sets, reserve or reference materials, audio- and videocassettes, microfiche, microfilm and entire periodical volumes are usually not available through interlibrary loan.

How to Initiate a Request for Materials: Please check LawCat carefully before submitting an interlibrary loan request. If our library does not own the needed material, or if it is missing from the shelf, simply fill out an interlibrary loan request form, available at the law library circulation desk. Please fill out the form completely and legibly, including any and all information you have about the material requested.

There is no limit to the number of requests which may be submitted at any one time by Mercer law students, law faculty and law staff, but please prioritize requests. Interlibrary loan requests will be made according to this priority, at the rate of no more than five items in one week. Attorneys and paralegals may have no more than two pending interlibrary loan requests at one time. Once a request is made, you may check on its status by contacting Michelle Byrd at the circulation desk, or by calling her at 301-2613.

Time Required: Please allow at least one week for requested material to arrive. Not all materials are available through interlibrary loan, and the law library cannot guarantee that all interlibrary loan requests will be filled.

Cost: There is usually no fee for Mercer law students, law faculty or law staff who borrow materials through interlibrary loan. However, if the lending library charges a fee for interlibrary loan, this cost must be paid by the requester, upon receipt of the material. Please indicate the amount (if any) you would be willing to pay on the interlibrary loan request form.

Attorneys, paralegals, and law students borrowing on behalf of law firms will be charged a $5 handling fee for each book, photocopy or fax received through interlibrary loan. In addition, if the lending library charges a fee for interlibrary loan, the requester must also pay this cost upon receipt of the material.

Loan Period: The loan period for materials borrowed through interlibrary loan is set by the lending library, and is usually no more than one month. Materials may usually be renewed, but please make the request on or before the due date, to allow us time to request a renewal from the lending library. A request for a one-time renewal may be made by calling Michelle Byrd at 301-2613.

Notification: Materials for faculty are placed in their mail boxes. Photocopies for students and notices of arrival of other materials will be placed in their mail boxes. Attorneys are notified by phone or e-mail of the arrival of interlibrary loan materials. Materials may then be picked up at the law library circulation desk. Arrangements may sometimes be made in advance allowing the patron to pick up the material at the lending library, if this is more timely.

Patron's responsibilities: Interlibrary loan patrons must protect books against damage, must pay for lost or damaged books, and must return books to the circulation desk (or request a renewal) on or before the due date. Please do not place an interlibrary loan request until you are ready to use the requested material.

Returning Interlibrary Loan Materials: All materials borrowed through interlibrary loan must be returned to the circulation desk, on or before the due date. Requesters are responsible for borrowed material until safely returned to the library.

Fines: Materials borrowed through interlibrary loan do not belong to the Mercer Law Library, and must be returned to the lending library when they become due. A fine of 25 cents per day will begin to accrue on the day after the due date, and will continue to accrue until the book is returned to the circulation desk. This fine must be paid when the book is returned. A patron’s interlibrary loan privileges or other library privileges may be suspended if he or she consistently returns materials after the due date. Continued tardiness in returning materials to lending libraries could jeopardize our ability to borrow materials in the future. Please return materials promptly.

Questions: For more information, please contact Michelle Byrd at 301-2613.