InterLibrary Loan Policy

Effective Date:  December 2013
Revision Date:  November 2024
Next Year of Review:  2026

Bruce County Public Library (BCPL) connects patrons to a wide variety of collection resources that foster life-long learning. To further enhance access to collections, BCPL participates in the Information Network of Ontario, a provincial network of resource sharing overseen by the Ontario Library Service. Through the INFO database, staff can request materials not held in our own collection for patrons to borrow, as well as make our collection available to other libraries. This resource sharing complements BCPL’s collection and is not a replacement for it. The process of borrowing and lending materials between library systems is known as Interlibrary Loan (ILL). ILL is available to BCPL card holders in good standing.

This policy establishes a commitment to resource sharing partnerships.

1.  In providing this service, BCPL follows the guidelines set by Ontario Library Services (OLS), other networks, and their member libraries. BCPL supports the Interlibrary Loan process by:
a. promoting awareness of the interlibrary loan service
b. requesting materials not owned by the library or missing from the library’s collection. BCPL will not request items in our collection, including those that are temporarily in use or on reserve.
c. requesting any type of library materials needed for study, instruction, information, recreation, research
d. only borrowing from libraries that don’t charge an administrative or lending fee
e. strictly observing any conditions for use of loaned materials that are imposed by a lending library
f. not charge users a fee for borrowing via interlibrary loan, in accordance with the Public Libraries Act and Regulation 967 
g. being responsible for materials borrowed on behalf of patrons and pay for overdue charges, damage, or loss of material borrowed on interlibrary loan. These costs will be added to the borrower’s account

2.  Interlibrary loan service is offered to other libraries that abide by the provincial interlibrary loan policies and participation standards. The library will:
a. make available the broadest range of materials for interlibrary loan with the following exceptions:
i. recently published materials and bestsellers
ii. equipment and kits
iii. materials limited by licensing agreements
iv. materials designated as non-circulating
v. magazines/periodicals
vi. lendable technology
b. reserve the right to decline to lend any item requested through ILL or to ask a borrowing library to restrict use of materials lent
c. respond to requests within 4 business days or as soon as possible
d. circulate items as per the loan period set by the lending institution
e. grant renewals unless the material is needed for another user of the library
f. charge for overdue, damaged or lost materials based on the Bruce County Public Library Circulation Policy

3. Bruce County Public Library reserves the right to:
a. limit the number of concurrent requests from patrons
b. suspend Interlibrary Loan access if privileges are abused

Related Documents

INFO (Information Network of Ontario) Participation Policies and Standards
Bruce County Public Library. OP Circulation Policy