Borrowing Policy
Eligibility
All current Clark students, staff, and faculty can use interlibrary loan services for library materials not owned/not available (items that are missing, lost, or checked-out) at Clark University. Please check the online catalog prior to requesting an item through ILL. (Alumni need to place ILL requests with their local libraries.)
ILL Materials
You may request books, articles, musical scores, dissertations, book chapters, documentaries, microfilm, etc. not available at Clark University. ILL staff will make all reasonable efforts to obtain your desired library material. Please be aware that rare or highly popular items (such as bestsellers or textbooks*), though, may not be possible to obtain or may take longer to arrive.
Note: Libraries do not lend periodicals (a.k.a. entire journals), and Clark ILL staff will not knowingly request more than one article per journal issue due to copyright/fair use reasons. However, with an ARC card obtained from the Circulation Desk at Goddard Library, you may visit local Worcester libraries such as those at WPI and Assumption College and utilize their collections, too.
* Due to the necessity of items being returned in a timely manner, Clark ILL staff reserve the right to cancel requests for traditional textbooks such as those published by McGraw-Hill.
Turn-around Time
Article requests are usually filled within two business days and book requests are filled within five to ten business days. It could take an extra day or so around midterms or finals to receive your desired materials. If you need resources immediately, contacting one of Clark's reference librarians is your best option.
Recalled, Overdue, Lost, or Damaged Interlibrary Loan Materials
Interlibrary loan is a reciprocal service among libraries and relies on borrowers to return items in good condition and in a timely manner, including items which may be recalled early by their home libraries. Clark library users who fail to observe these policies will be subject to fees imposed by the lending library for grossly overdue, lost, or damaged materials as well as for Goddard Library fines.
Borrowing privileges will automatically be suspended after three overdue e-mail notices. A bill will be issued in the amount of $65.00 ($50.00 for the item plus a $15.00 late fee) for any item more than a month overdue. The $50.00 will be waived upon receipt of the item, but the $15.00 late fee will remain.
Moreover, once we receive a bill from the loaning library for the lost, or damaged item, you will be billed for the full replacement amount, which is often greater than $50.00.
At the end of the academic year (May), students with overdue ILL materials will be billed through Student Accounts in the amount of $50.00 per item (or the full replacement fee charged by the loaning library), plus the $15.00 late fee if applicable.
Remember: ILL is not intended to be textbook replacement system. Items must be returned when due to ensure that both your borrowing rights and Clark's reputation are protected.