Reference Services
Interlibrary Loan
 
An Interlibrary Loan is a transaction in which material from one library is made available to another library upon request.

DEFINITION: An Interlibrary Loan is a transaction in which material from one library is made available to another library upon request. The term "material" includes all formats, i.e., books, photocopies, non-fiction, videos, CDs, DVDs etc.

PURPOSE: The purpose of Interlibrary Loan is to obtain materials not available in the Reading Public Library's collection. In compliance with the Pennsylvania Interlibrary Code, the Reading Public Library will NOT request any materials already contained in its own collection. This includes books on loan to patrons or system libraries, reference materials, Pennsylvania Room materials, or materials in other non-circulating collections.

The Reading Public Library has endorsed the Pennsylvania Interlibrary Loan Code (revised 1994) and adheres to the policies and procedures as outlined in the 1995 Pennsylvania Interlibrary Loan Procedures Manual.

The RPL staff shall make every effort to utilize the resources of its own library before resorting to InterLibrary Loan.

SCOPE: Any adult patron (in good standing) may make a request for an Interlibrary Loan item. As a district library center, the Reading Public Library will supply requests to other public libraries in Berks County from its own collection and will request materials from libraries outside the district for items not in its collection.

In compliance with the Pennsylvania Interlibrary Loan Code, RPL will NOT request the following kinds of materials:
  • Best sellers and newly published titles (within 6 months)
  • Dissertations from the granting institution
  • Titles owned locally (within Berks County Library System)
  • Issues/volumes of periodicals and journals
  • Reference materials
  • Books-on-tape, fiction videos, compact discs, DVDs
  • Rare books, special collection materials and archival materials
  • School/Course materials
  • Licensed computer software datafiles

Large/oversized volumes or multiple volume sets should not be requested on Interlibrary Loan, if it can be avoided. This type of material is difficult and expensive to package and ship.

PLEASE ALLOW:
7-10 business days (if the requested interlibrary loan material is found within the state of Pennsylvania and is available for shipping by the lending library).

2-3 weeks (if the requested interlibrary loan material is being shipped to the Reading Public Library from another state).

COSTS: Although every effort will be made to obtain requested materials at no cost from other district libraries, regional resource centers, etc., any costs incurred acquiring Interlibrary Loan materials will be passed on to the library patron. Therefore, please be sure to indicate on the Interlibrary Loan form how much you are willing to pay for a requested item. Lending fees range from $5.00 to $20.00.

CONFIDENTIALITY: As with the circulation records of libraries, Interlibrary Loan requests are confidential.


©2011 Reading Public Library
100 South Fifth Street, Reading, PA 19602
(610) 655-6350 www.reading.lib.pa.us