interlibrary loan & document delivery services

• borrows books or av material for you from other libraries (Interlibrary Loan Services)
• obtains the full text of documents that are unavailable in the research databases (Document Delivery Services)  

Please follow the links below for more information on:

does the Library already own the material you want?
request documents
request books
request audio/video items
deposit accounts
request dissertations from other universities
renewals
overdue books and fines
alumni services
FAQ
contact ILL/DDS
ILL/DDS policies
copyright restrictions

does the Library already own the material you want?

Have you checked to see if the Library already has the material you need?  You can save yourself time and money by first checking the following online tools to find out if a document or book is readily available.

Before requesting documents through Document Delivery Services, be sure to check:

• The Full Text Finder, if you have a citation to an article and want to get the full text fast.  The full text may be available in one of the research databases ? find out by entering the title of the publication in the search box.
• The Stevens Library Online Catalog, to find out if the Stevens Library owns a print copy of the publication in the bound periodicals section on the third floor.  Enter the title of the publication and specify Periodical Title in the drop-down menu.
  
  

Before requesting books through Interlibrary Loan Services, be sure to check:

• Stevens Library Online Catalog, to find out if the book is already owned by the Stevens Library either in print or in an e-Book database.
  

Please note: the ILL/DDS Deparment will not obtain books or documents that the S.C. Williams Library owns.

request documents

The ILL/DDS Department can try to aquire documents for patrons if the document is not available at our library. These documents include: journal articles, magazine article, newspaper articles, conference proceedings, technical papers, etc. 

Due to fees and copyright issues, the ILL department may have trouble getting copies of patents and standards.

Fees For Document Requests:

$1.00 per regular document request (3-10 business days)
$10.00 per rush request (1-3 business days)
$5.00 in addition to those above if you would like the Publisher Direct Option (see below for more info on this option)

PLEASE NOTE:

Fee is due at time of request. We will not start a request without payment.

We we not accept requests that do not have full citations. Please include:

• Journal Title
• Article Title
• Volume Number
• Page Numbers

The Library will subsidize up to $25 per document for Regular document requests.  If the document costs more than $25, the Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services department will contact you. You must agree to pay the balance before the Library proceeds with your request.  For Publisher Direct and Rush requests the library will subsidize $30. If the cost for one of these documents is greater than $30 you will be contacted.

Normally, the Library will send you a PDF containing the document when it is ready, unless a print copy is only available or you request otherwise.

The library cannot gaurantee that all requests will be filled. The ILL Department will try all avenues to aquire the document you need but if it cannot be found, you will be contacted and your fee will be returned to you.

Method 1:  use the Online Article Request Form. 

You will be charged $1 for every article you order ($10 for rush delivery of articles).  

If you are using a Departmental Account number to pay for your document requests, you must use the paper form (see method 2 below).

Method 2:  Use the paper form. 
A separate form is required for each request
(Note: Request forms CANNOT be faxed)

Download the paper form, fill it out completely, and submit the form and the appropriate fee to the Circulation Desk.  

HELPFUL HINT:  Print out the citation for the document on a separate piece of paper and staple it to the request form, instead of hand-writing the citation on the request form.  This ensures that all of the important information about the document is included, it saves you time, and it also helps the Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services department process your request faster.  A complete citation is required!  Be sure to legibly include your full contact information.

If you are using a Departmental Account number to pay for your document requests, you must use the paper form. You must also have the head of the department's signature for the request to be processed.  

Publisher Direct Option

If you would like us to purchase a copy of your journal article directly from a publisher, you may do so for a fee. This option would be ideal for patrons needing the clearest available pictures in his/her articles such as pictures of molecules, cells, etc.

For the time being the fee is $5 - this is on top of the $1 (regular) or $10 (rush) processing fee.

Please note that the fee could be higher if the article costs more than $30 the library subsidizes for publisher direct documents. Also, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to always be able to get a publisher’s copy. If either of these circumstances occurs, we would contact you to decide how to proceed.

deposit accounts

An ILL Deposit Account is set up in advance to pay for documents ordered.

To set up a Deposit Account, please fill out the Deposit Account Request form or contact Mary Ellen Valverde.

To add funds to a Deposit Account you may provide cash or a personal check made out to Stevens Institute of Technology and send it to the Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services department. You can also use an Interdepartmental Transfer Form to transfer funds from a grant, contract, or department to the Library.  Please note, we cannot accept Duck Bills as payment for a Deposit Account.

The $1.00 fee is deducted for each document requested (regular processing time); a fee of $10.00 is deducted for rush orders.

The advantage of setting up a Deposit Account is that you may request documents directly from the Library website, and you can copy/paste the citation details into the request form fields.  You will be given an account code that gives you access to the Online Document Request form.  No signatures are required, only the account code.

A minimum of $25.00 is required to set up a Deposit Account.

Please note, Deposit Account funds are non-refundable.   

Already have a deposit account? If so, use the Online Article Request Form. You will be asked for your code in the form.

Account Activity

Students - All student deposit accounts must be used at least once every 3 years. After 3 years without any activity, your account will be deleted.


For Faculty and Staff - All faculty and staff deposit accounts must be used at least once every 5 years. After 5 years without any activity, your account will be deleted.

request books

The ILL Department can borrow books from other libraries if the book is not available at our library.

The service is free, and delivery can take up to 14 business days. 

Please Note: Rush ordering is not available for this service and all books must be picked up at the circulation desk. We cannot send ILL books off campus.

The loan period for interlibrary loans varies according to the policy of the lending library.  The due date will be printed on the form that the Stevens library attaches to the book when it is received. 

There are 2 methods for ordering ILL books:

Method 1:  Use the Online Book & Audio/Video Request Form.

Method 2:  Use the Paper Form

Download and print the paper form, fill it out, and submit it to the circulation desk.  

You will be notified through email when your book arrives, and you must sign for it at the circulation desk.  ILL books will be at the circulation desk for one week after the email is sent, and if they are not claimed within that time, they will be returned to the lending library.

POLICIES – PLEASE READ BEFORE ORDERING

The S.C. Williams library is responsible for any books that our students, faculty and staff borrow from other libraries. Any lost, late or damaged books damage our credibility so please treat the books with respect.

We will not obtain the following:

1)  Books that the S.C. Williams Library owns. If our copy of the book is out on loan we cannot get another copy but you may put a hold on a book through our catalog so that the current borrower cannot renew it.  

2) Reference books (These materials never circulate)

3)  Current textbooks available from the bookstore

4)  Rare or archival material

LATE BOOKS: Books should be returned by the due date on the ILL book slip. Returning books late jeopardizes our relationship with other lending institutions. If you have a late book, the ILL Department will not put through any new book requests and you will not be able to pick up another ILL book until the late book is returned.

STUDENTS: If you do not return the book by the due date you will get 3 emails over a one-week period of time reminding you that your book is late. If the book is not returned by the date indicated in the 3rd email, your student account will be charged a $50 processing fee and a $150 lost book replacement fee. Also, you will be responsible for any late fees incurred from the lending library. If you return the book after the fees have been charged, your student account will be reimbursed the $150 replacement fee. Please be aware that you will not be reimbursed the $50 processing fee. If you are late with an ILL book more than 2 times without contacting us about it, you will lose your ILL privileges.

TEXTBOOKS: It is the library's policy not to order or borrow textbooks for students.

We do not carry them at our library because we do not have the space or funds to get a copy of each book for each class.

The ILL department are happy to get non-textbooks for students that the library does not own and the lending period is usually 28 days. Most classes last at least 3 months and students do not return the books on time because they still need them for longer than the 28 days allowed. When we do not send books back to the lending libraries by the due date our library is fined. Also, after seeing we do not return the books by the due date, the lending library may refuse to lend to us again. 

Our library understands how expensive textbooks are so we have a reserve shelf for some textbooks. We encourage professors to lend us a copy of the textbook if they have a duplicate. We also ask students to donate their old textbooks or encourage their professors to lend us their duplicate copy.

STUDENTS: If you order a textbook and we request it for you by accident (not knowing it was a textbook at the time), we will send you an email to recall the book from you. If the book is not returned by the date indicated in email, your student account will be charged a $50 processing fee and a $150 lost book replacement fee.

BOOKS NOT PICKED UP: ILL books will be at the circulation desk for one week after the arrival notification has been sent, and if they are not claimed during that week, they will be sent back to the lending library.

STUDENTS: Students will be charged $5 for each book that is not picked up.

RECALLED BOOKS: If a book is recalled by another university, you will be asked to return it to us right away. Since the book is not the property of our library we must abide by the rules of the lending library.

BOOK LIMIT: Students are limited to 10 ILL books at one time. There is no limit for faculty.

MAILING: ILL books cannot be mailed to you.

RENEWALS: If you would like to renew an ILL book you must call 1 week prior to the due date on your ILL book. Any renewal requests later than one week prior to the due date will not be sent.

We will try to renew your ILL book twice; however, we cannot guarantee that your renewal request will go through as some schools do not allow renewals of ILL books.

To renew your book contact the ILL Department or Ann Sanzari.

request audio and video items

The service is free and the delivery time can be up to twelve business days. Unlike many documents, AV items cannot be rushed and cannot be mailed directly to you.

You will be contacted through email when your item arrives, and you must sign for it at the Library Circulation Desk. The audio or video will be at the Circulation Desk for one week and if it is not claimed, it will be sent back to the lending library.

The loan periods for Interlibrary Loan audio/video items vary according to the policy of the lending library. The due date will be indicated on a form that the Stevens Library attaches to the item when it is received.

To order an item please use one of these methods:  

Method 1:  Use the Online Book & Audio/Video Request Form.

Method 2:  Use the Paper Form
Download the paper form, fill it out, and submit the form to the Circulation Desk.  

ILL Audio/Video Limit

Students may only have 5 ILL items out at one time. There is no limit for faculty at this time.

Renewals

We will try to renew your ILL item twice; however, we cannot guarantee that your renewal request will go through.

If you would like to renew an item you must call 1 week prior to the due date on your ILL loan. Any renewal requests later than one week before the due date will not be sent.

If an item is recalled by another university you will be asked to bring the book back to us right away. Since the book is not the property of our library we must abide by the rules of the lending library.

To renew your book contact the ILL Department or Ann Sanzari.

request dissertations from other universities

Dissertations written by students at other universities cannot be borrowed from other libraries; however, if you are a Stevens student, faculty member, or staff member, you may purchase dissertations through the Document Delivery Services.

The fee for each dissertation you request is $10.00. It will cost an extra $3 if you need it mailed to you off campus. Please allow 10 business days for delivery of your request.

Method 1:  use the Online Article Request Form. 

Please include all info such as title of the work, author, year and school. You must use a separate form for each request

Method 2:  Use the paper form  

If using the printed form you many staple a printout of the complete citation to the request form.  You can search for and locate records for many dissertations and theses using the FirstSearch – Dissertations database. Submit the form and the $10.00 fee to the Circulation Desk.

renewals

We will try to renew your ILL book or AV material only twice; however, we cannot guarantee that your renewal request will go through as some schools do not allow renewals of ILL materals.

If you would like to renew an ILL item you must call 1 week prior to the due date on your ILL book. Any renewal requests later than one week before the due date will not be sent.

If a book or AV item is recalled by another university you will be asked to bring it back to us right away. Since the ILL material is not the property of our library we must abide by the rules of the lending library.

To renew your book contact the ILL Department or Ann Sanzari.

overdue books and fines

Books should be returned by the due date on the ILL book slip. Returning books late jeopardizes our relationship with other lending institutions.

Students: If you do not return the book by the due date you will get 3 emails over a one-week period of time reminding you that your book is late. If the book is not returned by the date indicated in the 3rd email, your student account will be charged a $50 processing fee and a $150 lost book replacement fee. Also, you will be responsible for any late fees incurred from the lending library. If you return the book after the fees have been charged, your student account will be reimbursed the $150 replacement fee. Please be aware that you will not be reimbursed the $50 processing fee. If you are late with an ILL book more than 2 times without contacting us about it, you will lose your ILL privileges. 

alumni services

Requesting Documents and Dissertations

 Stevens alumni may use the Library's Document Delivery Services to request documents and dissertations. The cost for documents are as follows:

• Rush - $20 fee + full cost of document
• Regular - $10 fee + full cost of document
• Dissertations is $50 per request

Alumni can use Use the paper form and drop off the form along with payment to the library or send the form and payment to: The S.C. Williams Library, Castle Point on the Hudson, Mary Ellen Valverde, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Once payment is received, we will start the borrowing process.

Requesting Books

Alumni are eligible to use the Library's Interlibrary Loan services to request books from other libraries, however, alumni should first refer to their local public library for Interlibrary Loan services.

PLEASE NOTE: Interlibrary Loan books CANNOT be taken out of the library. Alumni are free to read the book at the S.C. Williams Library but they cannot take any ILL books out of the library. When picking up the book, the alumni will need to leave an ID at the front desk until the ILL book is returned.

We will keep the book at the circulation desk for 3 weeks before returning the book to the lending library.

The cost per book request is $25.

Alumni can use Use the paper form and drop off the form along with payment to the library or send the form and payment to: The S.C. Williams Library, Castle Point on the Hudson, Mary Ellen Valverde, Hoboken, NJ 07030.

Please contact the Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services Librarian if you have questions about Alumni Services.

FAQ

Is there a “cap” on the cost of documents?
Yes. For Regular document requests, the Library will subsidize up to $25.00 per document.  For Direct Publisher Option and Rush requests the library will subsidize $30. If the document costs more than the subsidized amount, the Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services department will contact you.  You must agree to pay the balance before the Library proceeds with your request.  

Why do I get some documents in just a couple of days, while it takes a couple of weeks to get others?
All requests for documents are not necessarily filled by the same service or library. The Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services Department employs a variety of vendors and libraries to get documents and they each have different delivery methods and turnaround times.  

What should I do if I have an incomplete citation?
Contact a Reference and Research Services Librarian for help in verifying your citation.  It is important that your citation be accurate to avoid delays in getting your article.  Whenever possible, please attach a copy of the citation from whatever source you used to obtain it.

What is not available through Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services?

We cannot obtain the following:

• Entire issues of periodicals (We can get individual documents only.)
• Reference books (These materials never circulate.)
• Rare or fragile materials, including manuscripts (These are usually available on-site only).
• Items subject to copyright limitations.

How do I get a copy of a dissertation or thesis from another institution?
See Request dissertations or theses from other universities

Is there any way to get the full text of an document online?
The Samuel C. Williams Library provides online access to the Stevens community to many full-text databases.  The full text of over 30,000 journals, magazines, conference proceedings, and newspapers are available in the research databases.  Also, citations and abstracts are available for thousands of more publications through the databases.  Publications on every discipline at Stevens are available through the databases.  You are encouraged to take a look at the list of Online Resources and try your searches in a variety of databases.  Ask an Information Services Librarian for help selecting databases and for help improving your search methods and results.

Do I need special software to view the full text of documents online?
Many full-text databases offer the choice of viewing material as HTML or as a PDF image.  To view HTML documents, you do not need special software.  Your Internet browser will display the text.  To view a PDF page image, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download for free from the Adobe website.

Why are very current articles sometimes unavailable?
Sometimes a citation to a document will appear in a database before the issue of the journal has been received by a library or document delivery service.  This situation can delay the turnaround time for obtaining the full text of an article.

contact ILL/DDS

If you have a question about Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services, please contact:

Mary Ellen Valverde (Head of ILL/DDS)

Ann Sanzari (ILL assistant)

or

The ILL Department

ILL / DDS policies

Interlibrary Loans (Borrowing books from other Universities/institutions)

We will not obtain the following:

• A book that the S.C. Williams Library owns. If our copy of the book is out on loan we cannot get another copy but you may put a hold on a book through our catalog so that it must be returned by the due date
• Reference books (These materials never circulate)
• Current textbooks available from the bookstore
  
• Some special collections

If any of these cases appear you will receive an email notifying you that we cannot fill the request.

Notification and Delivery

You will receive email notification at your Stevens email address when the book(s) arrive. Books will be held for one week and if not picked up will be returned to the lending library. (Please see "Books Not Picked Up" below)

If we are unable to obtain the material you request, we will notify you by email.

Overdue Books/Fines

Books should always be returned by the due date on the ILL book slip. Returning books late jeopardizes our relationship with other lending institutions.

STUDENTS: If you do not return the book by the due date you will get 3 mails over a one-week period of time reminding you that your book is late. If the book is not returned by the date indicated in the 3rd email, your student account will be charged a $50 processing fee and a $150 lost book replacement fee. Also, you will be responsible for any late fees incurred from the lending library. If you return the book after the fees have been charged, your student account will be reimbursed the $150 replacement fee. Please be aware that you will not be reimbursed the $50 processing fee. If you are late with an ILL book more than 2 times without contacting us about it, you will lose your ILL privileges.

Textbooks

It is the library's policy not to order or borrow textbooks for students. We do not carry them at our library because we do not have the space or funds to get a copy of each book for each class.

The ILL department is happy to get non-textbooks for students that the library does not own and the lending period is usually 28 days. Most classes last at least 3 months and students do not return the books on time because they still need them for longer than the 28 days allowed. When we do not send books back to the lending libraries by the due date our library is fined. Also, after seeing we do not return the books by the due date, the lending library may refuse to lend to us again. 

Our library understands how expensive textbooks are so we have a reserve shelf for some textbooks. We encourage professors to lend us a copy of the textbook if they have a duplicate. We also ask students to donate their old textbooks or encourage their professors to lend us their duplicate copy.

STUDENTS: If you order a textbook and we request it for you by accident (not knowing it was a textbook at the time), we will send you an email to recall the book from you. If the book is not returned by the date indicated in email, your student account will be charged a $50 processing fee and a $150 book replacement fee. Books Not Picked Up

ILL books will be at the circulation desk for one week after the arrival notification has been sent, and if they are not claimed during that week, they will be sent back to the lending library.

STUDENTS: Students will be charged $5 for each book that is not picked up.

Renewing Books

We will try to renew your ILL book twice; however, we cannot guarantee that your renewal request will go through as some schools do not allow renewals of ILL books.

If you would like to renew an ILL book you must call 1 week prior to the due date on your ILL book. Any renewal requests later than one week before the due date will not be sent.

To renew your book contact the ILL Department.

Recalls

If a book is recalled by another university you will be asked to bring the book back to us right away. Since the book is not the property of our library we must abide by the rules of the lending library.

ILL Book Limit

Students are allowed only 10 Interlibrary Loan books at any one time.

Editions of books

When filling out a request form, make sure to note the edition of the book. Only the exact edition that you write down will be requested. If your request for that edition is not filled you may fill out another request form and ask for another edition.

Document Delivery Service (Obtaining articles from other universities, publishers, document delivery services)

We will not obtain the following:

• Any documents that the S.C. Williams Library has in full text through our databases or print periodicals (see Reference and Research Services for help)

• Entire issues of periodicals. We can get individual documents only. No more than one article per issue of a journal will be filled at one time.

• Rare or archival materials, including manuscripts. (These are usually available on-site only)

• Items subject to copyright limitations.

If any of these cases appear, you will receive an email notifying you that we cannot fill the request. If you have paid by cash or duckbills, you can pick up the money you paid for this request at the circulation desk – only cash will be given back, we cannot replace duckbills.

We will not accept requests that do not include:

• Title of the journal – no abbreviations please
•  Title of the article
• Volume number
• Page numbers

If any of these cases appear, you will receive an email notifying you that we cannot fill the request until this information is supplied.

Fees:

$1.00 per regular document request (3-10 business days) $10.00 per rush request (1-3 business days)

PLEASE NOTE: Fee is due at time of request. We will not start a request without payment.

Notification and Delivery

You will be sent PDFs of the documents that you requested if they are available. If they are not available we will send them through campus/regular mail.

If we are unable to supply the material you request, we will notify you by email.

Deposit Accounts

Deposit account money is non-refundable.

copyright restrictions

The S.C. Williams Library at Stevens Institute of Technology follows the regulation for fair use established by the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code)  and reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

According to fair-use regulations, a copyrighted article that is photocopied or reproduced may not be used “for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” This means that multiple reproductions of a copyrighted article are not allowed for public use without permission of the copyright holder. Anyone who exceeds fair use of copyrighted material without permission may be liable for copyright infringement.

Fair-use regulations could also affix the availability of documents requested from out Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery Department. Some publishers do not allow reproduction of their copyright material, but request instead that the material be purchased directly from them. In such cases, the fulfillment of document requests will be delayed or in some instances cost prohibitive. Should we encounter a copyright problem on a document request, you will be notified.

By placing an ILL/DDS request, you are confirming that you have read and accept the following terms and conditions in regards to your documents:

-  You may print only one paper copy, from which you may not make further copies, except as  may be allowed by law.

 - You may not retain the electronic copy after printing out a paper copy.

- You may not make further electronic copies or convert the file into any other format.

- You may not cut and paste or otherwise alter the text.

- You may not forward the electronic copy, in electronic or print form, to anyone else.