Interlibrary Loan

1.  Interlibrary loan (ILL) is used to obtain from other libraries those materials that are beyond the scope of our collection.

2. Borrowing from other libraries: This service is free unless the Washington Public Library has to borrow out-of-state or from a university.  In that case we charge $2.00 per item for patrons to use the ILL service. This helps us offset shipping costs. The patron will be notified of the charge before the material is borrowed. The charge will be posted to the user's account if the item is ordered but not picked up by the due date. -Checkout periods for ILL items are set by the loaning library, and are usually two weeks. On occasion, the Washington Public Library may receive permission from the loaning library to extend a due date. -A patron may have only three active ILL requests at one time. Books published within the last year are not eligible for interlibrary loan. Those books will be considered for purchase by the library's selectors. -Interlibrary loan privileges may be suspended if: -a patron habitually requests titles and does not pick them up; -materials are misused; or -materials are returned late. 

3. Interlibrary loan for Bookclubs: Washington Public Library offers a special interlibrary loan (ILL) service for local bookclubs. The Library will request multiple copies of books from other libraries in order to provide bookclubs with the number of copies they need.  -Multiple copies of books are available to bookclubs if: -the books are at least 1 year old, and -the books are not current bestsellers. -Occasionally, due to circumstances beyond our control, the Library is unable to fill a request. If this occurs, the Library staff will work with the bookclub to try to find an alternate title. -Only book club members with a Washington Public Library card may check out books through this program, due to interlibrary loan rules. -Some multiple copy bookclub sets are available from Iowa libraries and include discussion questions. Bookclubs are encouraged to choose titles that are included in the Multiple Copies List. The list is available here: http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/ld/kp/multiple-copies. -Bookclubs should designate a contact person for the bookclub, who will contact the Library with the titles and dates of the book discussions. -ILL requests should be made at least 5 weeks before the bookclub meeting. With sufficient advance notice, the Library will order the books so that they will be available approximately 4 weeks prior to the bookclub meeting. Bookclub members are responsible for returning the books on time, renewing items, or paying the overdue fines.