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The Interlibrary Loan Service locates and borrows materials outside of EBRPL’s collection. We can borrow physical books, journal articles and other items that we do not own. DVDs, CDs, and other audio/video media can only be borrowed from the Louisiana State Library.The cost of this service is usually free; however, lenders may charge a fee for hard-to-source items.Submit an interlibrary loan request online or talk to a staff member at any Library branch to assist you.Once you have submitted the form, the ILL team will let you know when your request has been processed and submitted to another library system. If available, the requested item should arrive in about 2-3 weeks. The loan period will be determined by the lending library with the assigned due date listed on the Interlibrary Loan label. Please do not remove any labels or sleeves placed on the items. Interlibrary loans may be renewed up to two times if allowed by the lending library. Items marked “No Renewal” will not be renewed by the lender. Please be aware that even though EBRPL is a fine-free library, if any item is lost or not returned, patrons may be billed for the item by the lending library.ILL requests are limited to eight (8) “in-process” items at a time. We do not process ILL requests for out-of-parish patrons. For books, in-process status begins when a request is made and lasts until you return the borrowed item to the library. For scans and photocopies, the transaction is complete when you receive the copies. The following materials are NOT available through Interlibrary Loan:
You may also request a purchase of any items that you wish to be considered for the EBRPL collection.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) locates and obtains materials that are not available in the East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s print, microform or multimedia collections. We borrow these materials from other library systems.
ILL services are available to any patron who is a resident of East Baton Rouge Parish and has a valid East Baton Rouge Parish Library card.
You can get many materials through Interlibrary Loan but some things are harder to locate and borrow. Dissertations and theses, rare books, and genealogical materials are sometimes unavailable or can take longer for us to find a willing lender. DVDs, CDs, and other audio/video media can only be borrowed from the Louisiana State Library. Electronic resources such as eBooks and online audiobooks are unavailable to borrow through ILL at this time.
Materials that are available in the East Baton Rouge Parish Libraries should not be requested through ILL. However, you can request items that are lost or missing, or other versions of a book such as a Large Print edition.
ILL requests are limited to eight (8) “in-process” at a time. We do not process ILL requests for out-of-parish patrons. For books, in-process status begins when a request is made and lasts until you return the borrowed item to the library. For scans and photocopies, the transaction is complete when you pick up the copies.
The following materials cannot be requested through Interlibrary Loan:
Requests are processed in the order in which they are received. If your ILL request form is not completely filled out, your request may be delayed while we contact you for the missing information.
We use the LoanShark and OCLC online databases, which contain the holdings of over 10,000 libraries across the country.
Your materials will usually arrive within 2-3 weeks. Items that are very recently published, unusual, or in a format other than a book or photocopy can take longer. ILL offices around the US usually do not operate during weekends and holiday periods, so there can be delays.
Feel free to contact the ILL department to ask about the status of your request. If your material has not arrived and you have not heard from us within three weeks of placing your request, call us at (225) 231-3750.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Library covers postage charges for ILL materials. There are some charges that the Library cannot pay for, like extra charges for rare materials. Any extra charges or purchase costs will be your responsibility if you decide you want those materials. We will always notify you of any possible charges associated with your request.
If you choose to accept charges, your library account will be charged once we submit the request and it is processed by the lending library. As a fine-free library system, we do our best to provide ILL loans to you free of charge. Please be aware however, that if you lose or damage an ILL item, you may be charged for the item by the lender.
Scans are usually yours to keep.
The lending library sets the loan period, which can vary according to each lending library and its needs. The lending library decides whether or not to allow any renewals. If renewals are allowed, we will request up to two renewals per item. Items marked “No Renewal” will not be renewed by the lender. Interlibrary loans are the property of other libraries and are offered to us as a courtesy. As such, we ask that due dates are respected and items returned promptly so that we can continue to offer ILL services to the patrons of EBRPL.
If an item is not marked “No Renewal,” and it has not already been renewed once, contact us to request a renewal. We’ll contact the lending library to ask for the renewal. You will get a new due date that is three weeks after the original due date unless we contact you to tell you differently. If the lending library cannot renew the item, you must return the item immediately.
Some items cannot be renewed:
To request a renewal, call us at 225-231-3750.
