A single library cannot have every item in its collection that patrons may want to use. In order to provide access to materials not owned by the library, it will often request a copy from another library through Interlibrary Loan. Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a cooperative agreement among libraries that allows libraries to borrow materials from each other for the benefit of their patrons.
Library Express policies are influenced by two external sources:
- Copyright and Fair Use
- The copyright law of the United States (17 U.S. Code § 108) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or 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 in excess of fair use (17 U.S. Code § 107) that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order, if in its judgements, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
- American Library Association
- RUSA's Interlibrary Loan Code for the U.S. establishes principles that facilitate the requesting of material by a library and the provision of loans or copies in response to those requests. In this code, "material" includes books, audiovisual materials, and other returnable items as well as copies of journal articles, book chapters, excerpts, and other non-returnable items.
EKU Libraries Interlibrary Loan Copyright Compliance Policy outlines procedure followed by Library Express that advocates for the Fair Use Doctrine (17 U.S. Code § 107) while satisfying the requirements of Copyright Law (17 U.S. Code § 108) and RUSA's Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States.