Request Books, Microfilm, Articles, and Materials Not Owned by the Library
- Borrowing will be limited to 5 active requests per patron.
- You will not be able to borrow microform; physical formats will be limited to books, audiobooks, and DVDs.
- ILL items will be mailed directly to you in lieu of picking them up at Central Library and must be returned to the book drops at Central Library
- Because of these restrictions and likely delays, all ILL service fees will be suspended until further notice
To use Interlibrary Loan (ILL), you must be an Arlington County resident with a current library card in good standing.
All ILL materials will be available for pick-up and return only at the Ask-a-Librarian desk at Central Library. ILL materials may not be returned in any book drop.
What does it cost?
In order to cover the cost of shipping and/or printing the following fees apply:
- $3.00 for books
- $5.00 for all non-print material
- $.15 per page for photocopies *
- There may be additional fees of $10 - $30 assessed by lending libraries
* Some libraries will provide electronic copies. If their lending policies allow for it, we are happy to pass the electronic format on to our patrons at no charge. Unfortunately, since the option of providing electronic or photocopies depends on the lender, we cannot guarantee ILL copies in electronic format.
What can you request through ILL?
ILL requests may be made for any items not owned by Arlington Public Library with the following exceptions:
- No microform; physical formats will be limited to books, audiobooks, and DVDs.
- No Music CDs
- No items published or released within the past 6 months to one year. Instead, please submit a suggestion for the collection.
- No Playaways, downloadable audiobooks or eBooks
- Lending libraries will also generally restrict loans of textbooks, genealogy material and reference books
How does ILL work?
- Submit an online Interlibrary Loan Request Form for each title. Please include any information about the title from citations, websites, etc.
- We can process up to 10 5 active requests per patron.
- Requests will usually take 3-6 weeks to fill.
- The ILL staff will contact you when your request arrives for pick-up.
- The transaction fee will be written to your library card and the item will be added to your account.
- Patrons are responsible for items and due dates on their account and should let staff know if they no longer need their interlibrary loan.
