What can I borrow via interlibrary loan?
The Library can obtain the following types of materials for you via interlibrary loan:
- Books (excluding textbooks)
- Copies of journal/magazine/newspaper articles
- Microform/microfiche
- Theses and dissertations
- Conference proceedings
- Items officially declared missing from the TRU Library collection
Please Note: The interlibrary loan service supports research, employment, and course work at TRU. Please place requests for personal reading materials with your local public library.
What restrictions do I need to consider?
- Requests for articles/book chapters required in less than 4 business days will be cancelled.
- Requests for books or videos required in less than 7 business days will be cancelled.
- TRU will pay a maximum of $25 per item per interlibrary loan.
- ILL requests are subject to the University's Fair Dealing Policy. Material provided through Interlibrary Loan must be used solely by the requestor for the purpose of private study, research, criticism, or review. TRU Interlibrary Loan Services cannot order the following:
- more than one article from the same issue of a journal
- copies that comprise more than 10% of a published work
How do I find theses & dissertations?
Please see the Library guide Theses & Dissertations.
Where do I pick up my item(s)?
- Kamloops students, staff, & faculty: House of Learning Lockers. The Library will email you the locker number and code when the item is ready for pickup.
- Williams Lake students, staff, & faculty: The item(s) will be sent to the address you identified in your request with a prepaid return shipping label.
- Distance, Regional & Open Learning students and faculty: Item(s) will be sent to you according to your selected delivery method (i.e., ship to address you identify or pick up in person).
Where do I return items?
- Kamloops Campus: During open hours, please return items to one of two book drops inside House of Learning Library (1st or 3rd floor), or, if the Library is closed, to the book drop located outside at the southeast corner of the building.
- Williams Lake Campus: During Library open hours, please return items to the Library Information Desk, or, if the Library is closed, to the book drop outside the Student Services Offices. OR, use the included prepaid return label to ship back to House of Learning Library.
- Distance, Regional & Open Learning: If the item was sent to you by post, please use the included prepaid return label to ship back to House of Learning Library.
Why do I need to use my TRU email?
All official TRU Library notices (i.e., due date reminders, hold notices, interlibrary loan "request" and "available" confirmations, etc.) are sent to TRU email accounts. It is your responsibility to check your TRU account regularly for library notices OR set up your TRU email account to forward messages automatically to the email account of your choice.
Why was my interlibrary loan request cancelled?
Your request may have been cancelled for any of the following reasons:
- the item is needed in less than 4 days (articles/book chapters) or 7 days (books)
- the item is checked out to someone else: in this case, please click “Request this item”.
- TRU Library could not locate the item at another library
- the information in the request is incorrect or incomplete
- the item is intended to be placed, or is currently on reserve as a Course Reading
- the request is for a type of material TRU Library does not borrow via interlibrary loan. These include:
- items already existing in TRU Library collections
- textbooks
- entire volumes or issues of a journal or magazine
- reference works
- sound recordings
- rare, valuable, or fragile items
What happens if I lose or damage interlibrary loan material?
You are responsible for paying any replacement charges and/or processing fees levied by the lending library.
What happens if I receive a "recall" on my interlibrary loan?
If the lending library recalls material before the assigned due date, TRU Library will notify you about the new due date.
What are the fines for overdue interlibrary loan material?
$2.00 per day per item
NOTE: TRU Library borrows material from other libraries on your behalf. If materials are returned late, you will be subject to fines and may lose your borrowing privileges.
