FAU Libraries Document Delivery

Florida Atlantic University Libraries Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan Services

Owl FAU Libraries
Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan Services for Distance Learners

Document Delivery Services for distance learning students provides home delivery of books, documents, copies of articles, and other circulating materials from the FAU Libraries collections, as well as copies of articles obtained through Interlibrary Loan.
Document Delivery is available to students enrolled only in distance learning courses. If you are enrolled in a combination of distance and on-campus courses, home delivery is not available, and you should seek Interlibrary Loan services at any FAU campus library.
Submitting Requests
To request a book or article from a journal owned by FAU, please register in ILLiad with "Distance Learner" as your Patron Status. If you are a Distance Learner not affiliated with FAU, please choose "DCU Distance Learner" for Dept./Major. Books will be charged out on your card number and mailed to you free of charge. Items that will not be sent include materials that have limited circulation, such as reference, reserve, complete issues or volumes of periodicals, or materials held in Special Collections. Audiovisual materials that are not in reserve status may be borrowed for 2 weeks. FAU books will be charged out for normal loan periods, and may be renewed online. Please save the bag that the materials came in, and re-use it to return the items to us by placing the FAU Libraries address label over the old address label. All students are responsible for the cost of returning the material and for replacement fees if lost or damaged. We recommend returning items to FAU using a delivery method that includes tracking, such as UPS.
To request a copy of a book not owned by FAU, make your Interlibrary Loan request through your nearest public library, FAU campus library, or other State University System library. Non-FAU books MUST be picked up at the library where the request was made. Keep in mind that because you are enrolled in a state university, you may also check out books at any of the other 70 public universities and community college libraries.
Copies of journal articles from the FAU Libraries collection will be provided at no cost. Articles obtained through other institutions occasionally may have charges. Be sure to indicate if you are willing to pay. If there is a charge and you are willing to pay, you will receive an invoice with the article, which can be mailed with your payment to the Cashier’s Office. Be sure to check the holding of FAU Libraries Electronic Collection before requesting an article, as the databases include the holdings of thousands of full-text journal articles available in electronic format. FAU Libraries abide by the U.S. Copyright Law, which governs the use and borrowing of photocopies and other reproductions of copyrighted materials. You will not have to return photocopies.

Service Costs

There is no charge to users for ILLiad. You are responsible for return charges.

Request Turnaround Times

Turnaround time depends on method of delivery and other conditions. Document Delivery requests for materials in FAU's collections average 3 days to process. During our busiest periods it can take up to one week. Articles obtained from other libraries generally take longer. Allow at least one to two weeks for delivery.

In order to serve all patrons equally, the Interlibrary Loan Department must reserve the right to limit the number of requests. During our busiest times a single patron may order five items per week; those beyond five are ordered as time permits.

Materials Delivery

We will send materials via direct mail to the preferred mailing address you indicate on the ILLiad registration form. You are responsible for return postage. You are also responsible for updating ILLiad with any change of address.

Loan Periods

Returnable materials are charged to individual borrowers, and standard loan policies apply. Faculty: 6 months; Graduate students, staff, adjunct instructors, and visiting researchers: 1 semester; Undergraduate students: 3 weeks. Loans begin at the time of charge by the ILL staff, and discharges are are made only at the time of receipt of the material at the FAU S.E. Wimberly Library in Boca Raton. All loans can be restricted or recalled at any time.

Overdue Policy

You will be assessed overdue fines for items returned late. Excessive tardiness or failure to return an item may result in restrictions or revocation of library privileges, and an invoice for the cost of the item.

Renewals, Recalls

FAU-owned materials may be renewed if another borrower has not requested them. Online Renewal is available for most materials. A Recall can be placed on a book checked out for more than 3 weeks. The patron using the book must return it to the library within 10 days. You will then be notified that the item is available for use. You may also request a recall directly from the library catalog.

If you have any questions regarding library services for distance learners contact Teresa Van Dyke by email .

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Last updated 30 April 2007