Q. What kinds of materials can I get through interlibrary loan?

The Interlibrary Loan Department makes every effort to get all materials requested by our patrons. Experience tells us, however, that materials falling into certain categories are more challenging to obtain, and the success rate for obtaining these types of materials tends to be a little lower.

In general, materials in the following categories are easily obtainable:

• Books printed since 1900 (except for current year imprints)

• Microforms of newspapers and periodicals

• Articles from scholarly journals, magazine, and newspapers

• Government documents

• Patents

• Dissertations

In general, items from these categories are more difficult to obtain:

• Books printed before 1900 and/or rare books

• Brand-new books (out less than 6 months)

• Manuscripts

• Materials published exclusively in some other countries

• Paper editions of newspapers or magazines

• Audiovisual materials

• Computer software

• Reference materials and other non-circulating materials

A request for something from one of these categories may take more time than the average of two weeks to fill, or may be filled with restrictions – such as a shorter loan period, a "no photocopying" restriction, or a "library use only" restriction. Please discuss any special needs with John Raymond, Access Services Librarian: jraymond@siena.edu or 518-783-2522.

There are some categories of materials that we will not order through interlibrary loan:

• Textbooks

• Books or AV intended to be put on reserve at Siena

• Books or AV material available at Siena, either on the shelf or electronically

• Journals, magazines, or newspapers available in paper format and on the shelf in the Standish Library

We will order the following materials -- if they are owned by the Standish Library, but not really accessible to the patron:

• Books or AV that are checked out

• Journals/magazines that are at the bindery

• Pages that are torn out of Siena's print copy

• Any item that isn't checked out (should be on the shelf), but cannot be found

If you need to order something like this through interlibrary loan, please indicate in the notes field of your request why you can't use Siena's copy.