Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery

Books, electronic copies of book chapters, articles, and other items for your research. You can also request items we own if they are checked out or missing. Textbooks are not available through ILL.
 

How long does it take?
 

Physical items (books, etc.) may take 2-3 weeks.

Electronic copies of book chapters and articles from other libraries usually arrive in 1-3 days

Most borrowed items can be returned at these locations:
 

• The Research and Information Desk in Atkins Library (Atkins main floor map)
• The Circulation Desk at Hight Architecture Library in the Storrs Building
• In book drops around campus (campus map)

Overdue ILLs, DVDs, CDs or fragile items should be returned at the Atkins Research and Information Desk to avoid additional fines and damage. 

You'll receive an email when your requested item is available. Let us know by phone or email if you no longer need something you requested.
 

Physical Items (books, etc.)

• Pick up physical items at the Information and Research Desk. You'll be asked to show your UNC           Charlotte ID to pick up items. ILLs are held for pickup until the due date.
• Faculty and staff can have items sent to their office through campus mail. Select "Work Address"         when placing your request in the Library's Catalog. Delivery may take a few days.
• Books for Distance Ed students will be sent to their home address via UPS. 
   

Articles and Book Chapters

• You will receive an email when your digital copy is available.
• Download articles and book chapters from the Electronically Received Articles section of your Library Account.

Overdue fines
 

• Fines for overdue ILL materials are $1.00 per day (no maximum).
• Fines for overdue ILL items that have been recalled are $5.00 per day (no maximum).
• Not returning your interlibrary loan items by the due date will result in your Interlibrary Loan account being blocked. This is also true for any intentional damage to books such as underlining or highlighting.

Damaged or lost loans

Replacement fees for lost or damaged items are set by the lending library, and may be greater than the item's retail price. Fines for lost or damaged ILLs are non-refundable.
 

How do I pay fines Online?

Login to your library account and click "My Library Card". Then click "Pay Fine." You can also view the Pay Your Library Fines Online tutorial for more assistance.

For questions about online payments, contact librarybilling@charlotte.edu.

Pay In-Person

Visit the Information and Research Desk on the first floor of Atkins Library. Pay with cash, check, or a debit/credit card. For fines under $1, we can only accept cash.

Document Delivery is a free service for students, faculty, and staff of UNC Charlotte, where we’ll scan an article or a book chapter that we own in print for you. Typical delivery time will be within 24 hours. All copies are delivered electronically. 
 

Guidelines for Document Delivery  Requests:

• You can request one chapter from a book.
• 35 page maximum.
   
• Download and save your files, they will automatically delete in 30 days.
  • We aren't able to request duplicate copies of items in the same calendar year.
• Provide a complete and accurate bibliographic description (Title, Author, Pages, etc.) of the requested material. 
• You are responsible for using materials in accordance with Copyright Law (Title 17, US Code) and its guidelines. See the Copyright and Fair Use guide for assistance.
• You are responsible for conducting your own Fair Use Analysis

• Textbooks assigned to current UNC Charlotte courses 
• Test material
• Boxes of archival papers
• Maps (stand alone)
• E-books (are generally not available)
• Rare Books (held in Special Collections)
• Reference Books (held in Reference Collections)
• Entire journal issues
• Publication requirements of a particular journal
• Material needed for reserve use (copyright violation)
• Material recently borrowed and returned for the same individual
• Requests that don’t comply with the Copyright Law (Title 17, US code) and its guidelines
• Incomplete or incorrect citations

Hard-to-Obtain Requests

Since most libraries don’t lend the following materials, these items may not be available through ILL:

• Rare or valuable material, including manuscripts
• High demand material (best sellers, newly published, etc.)
• Reference books, audiovisual materials and genealogy works
• Bulky or fragile material
• Media such as DVDs and CDs

You are responsible for using materials in accordance with Copyright Law (Title 17, US Code) and its guidelines. See the Copyright and Fair Use guide for more information.

You are responsible for conducting your own Fair Use Analysis.

NOTICE WARNING CONCERNING COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS
The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy of other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve a violation of copyright law.