Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary loan (ILL) services at Wright Library include:

Borrowing
Lending

Have questions?

We’re here to help. Contact us or stop by the Circulation Desk with questions or other information.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Borrowing at Wright Library

For Princeton Theological Seminary Students, Faculty, and Staff

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a service that allows Wright Library users to borrow books, media, and articles from other academic libraries when Wright Library does not own the item, or when that item is not available at Princeton University (i.e., checked out, listed as “unavailable” in the catalog, or is inaccessible to some of our borrowers, like CTI scholars who do not have access to Princeton University).

Interlibrary Loan Request Form

Who can use ILL?

ILL services are available to:

Current Princeton Seminary Students
Princeton Seminary Faculty
Princeton Seminary Staff
Visiting Scholars (OMSC, President’s Office Visiting Scholars, CTI Scholars)

ILL is not available to alumni, reciprocal borrowers, or paid patrons.

What can you request?

If Wright Library does not own the item, eligible users may request:

Books
Articles
Book chapters
Essays from edited volumes
CDs/DVDs (dependent on lender availability)
Other academic materials available through our partner libraries

How long does ILL take?

Estimated delivery times:

Articles/Chapters: Usually 1-7 days (sent by mail)
Books and Media: Usually 5-10 days

Arrival times vary based on the lending library’s processing and shipping speed.

Someone from the Circulation team will email you when your item is ready for pick-up.

Loan Periods & Renewals

Loan periods are set by the lending library, not by Wright Library.

General guidelines:

Books typically loan for several weeks to several months
Renewals may be possible. Please request a renewal at least five (5) business days before the due date.
All ILL items can be recalled at any time, even after checkout.

Please return items on time; overdue ILL materials can affect Wright Library’s ability to borrow from other institutions, and it may result in fines on your library account.

Use of ILL Materials

Some libraries label items “Library Use Only.” These materials must stay inside Wright Library.
Handle all ILL materials with care and avoid damage, writing or highlighting.
Borrowers are responsible for replacement costs, if ILL materials are lost or damaged.

Requesting Scans or Copies

You may request:

Journal articles
Book chapters
Short excerpts

Please note:

Libraries cannot scan more than 20% of a book.
You must identify the pages, chapter, or section needed.

Wright Library Full-Text Journal Article Lookup

LibKey powers the DOI lookup and is also available as a downloadable browser extension.

Important Limitations for Princeton Seminary Borrowers

Some materials cannot be obtained through ILL, because most libraries will not lend them.

Examples of materials typically not available:

New or recently published popular books
Entire journal issues
Reference books
eBooks (due to licensing restrictions)
Textbooks or required course materials,
Items held only in Special Collections or archives
Microform (microfilm/microfiche) (varies by institution)

Information for Other Libraries (ILL Lending)

For institutions wishing to borrow from Wright Library

Who do we lend to?

Wright Library lends materials only to academic institutions:

Colleges
Seminaries
Universities

We do not lend or supply scans to:

Public libraries
County/Municipal libraries
Non-academic organizations

How to Request

Primary system: OCLC WorldShare
Off-system policies (exceptions):
- Loans (physical items): Only for Atla member academic libraries
- Copy/Scan: Academic libraries only, paid IFLA vouchers ($15 per request; applies to domestic and international off-system requests)

International policy: Wright Library cannot supply physical loans outside the United States. However, we can fulfill copy/scan requests for international academic libraries (off-system, IFLA vouchers required).

Lending Terms

Loan period: 4 months from acceptance
Renewals: Up to 2 renewals, 28 days each
Recalls: Items may be recalled at any time.
Charges (outside affiliations): Loans up to $25; copy/scan $15 (off-system academic libraries must pay via IFLA vouchers)
All physical materials we lend out are considered “In Library Use Only.” Please consider this rule before sending an off-system ILL request or a lending request through OCLC.

Reasons an ILL Request May Be Denied

Wright Library strives to fulfill all eligible requests. A request may be declined for any of the following reasons:

1) Ineligible Requesting Institution

Requester is not an academic library (seminary, college, university)
Requests from public/county libraries or non-academic organizations
Off-system requests that do not meet Atla (loans) or IFLA voucher (copy/scan) criteria.

2) Loan Restrictions Based on Format or Collection

We cannot lend items that are:

Folios
Microfilm / Microfiche
New
Periodicals / Magazines
Reference
Special Collections / Archives
Any item the ILL team determines is non-circulating

3) Item Condition or Suitability

Rare, fragile, valuable, or high-risk materials
Items requiring special handling or not safely shippable

4) Item Availability

Checked out, on reserve, in active local use, missing, or very new (added within last calendar year / on New Books shelf)
Wright Library does not recall items from patrons for ILL lending fulfillment.

5) Scope or Volume of Request

More than 2 volumes per transaction
Entire journal issues or entire multi-volume sets

6) Copy/Scan Restrictions

More than 20% of a book requested
Pages/chapters no specified
Off-system copy requests without IFLA voucher payment (academic libraries only)

7) Bibliographic/Administrative Issues

Incomplete/incorrect citations
Cost-limit issues (outside affiliations: loans up to $25; copy/scan $15)
Unclear identification or location of the item

Even when a request meets all requirements, materials are lent at Wright Library’s discretion and may be recalled at any time.