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Q: Can't find what you are looking for in the catalog ? Place a request .
A: Your request may be purchased for the library or borrowed from another library via interlibrary loan.
Q: How many requests can I make for items not in your catalog?
A: To help us provide an equal level of service to all users, please limit your requests to approximately five per week or 20 per month.
Q: What if I want to pick up this item at the Bellingham, Fairhaven or Barkley libraries?
A: Contact Bellingham Public Library for assistance.
Q: Can I request something before it's published or released?
A: Items may be requested up to six months prior to publication.
Q: How long will it take for me to get this item?
A: It may take three to six weeks to supply your request, or longer in some cases. If you need it sooner, please call the Reference Center at 360-354-4883.
Q: Can I request DVDs or VHS Tapes?
Entertainment DVDs released within the last four years are not available on interlibrary loan. Your requests will be considered for purchase. We do not purchase or borrow VHS tapes.
Q: Can I Request CD-ROMs?
A: CD-ROM games are not available on interlibrary loan. Your requests will be considered for purchase.
Q: Can I request Magazines?
A: We do not borrow issues of magazines on interlibrary loan. If you are looking for a particular article, and it is not available through any of our databases, please use the Beyond the Catalog request form and include the title, author, and any (all) other information available.
Beyond the Catalog: Detailed Help
How do I request something that is not in the catalog?
- If you want a particular book, CD, DVD or other item not in the catalog, we have provided an online form that you can fill out.
- Please provide as much information as you can about the item you are requesting: author or performers, title, volume number if there is more than one volume, approximate date of publication, and ISBN if you know it.
- If you have found this item in www.amazon.com , www.worldcat.org , www.cdbaby.com , www.barnesandnoble.com or other online resource, it would help us if you could copy and paste the URL in the space provided on the form. The URL is the address of the webpage that shows the information about the item and usually appears in a box at the top of your browser.
- If you aren't sure how to do that, or otherwise can't find the item you want, there is another space where you can give us more information that could help us: where did you hear of the item? When? Useful information includes the television, radio program, or magazine article that discussed it; or listing in a bibliography in a book or magazine. Have you read, heard, or seen this item before? When? What is it about?
- Whole issues of magazines that are not in WCLS or BPL cannot be borrowed from other library systems. If you want your library to subscribe to a particular magazine, please talk to the staff at your local library.
- If you are requesting a magazine article that is not full text through the online magazine indexes available in our libraries, ask for a Magazine Article Request Form from your local library or call 384-4883. We must have the title of the article, the title of the magazine, the author of the article if that is known, and the date, volume number, and page numbers.
- If you have a bibliography from a book or another magazine article, we need a copy of that bibliography, along with the title of the book or magazine that it appeared in.
- If you recall only the subject of an article, and perhaps the magazine in which you saw it, use the periodical indexes to identify the exact article you want.
What happens after I make a request?
WCLS staff will consider the requested item for purchase, taking into account availability and whether or not it conforms with our collection policy. It may take three to six weeks for an item to arrive if purchased, and sometimes longer for some materials. If not purchased, we will attempt to borrow the item from a library outside Whatcom County via Interlibrary Loan. If we can't provide you with this item, we will let you know.
What is InterLibrary Loan (ILL)?
The Whatcom County Library System loans to and borrows from other libraries in the United States, Canada, and even, rarely, overseas. We will attempt to borrow most items except whole issues of magazines, American feature films released in the last 5 years and CD-ROM games. However, some things may be difficult to get:
- rare old items ;
- very new items;
- highly technical items ;
- items published outside the US;
- some genealogy items;
- items that are difficult to mail: for instance, 33 1/3 recordings, fragile materials; and
- audio-visual materials, such as CD's or DVD's.
WCLS staff check a library database for a list of the libraries that have the item. One after another is contacted until we find one who has the item available and is willing to loan it. It is difficult to predict how long this process will take: it depends on our work load (we lend and borrow about 10,000 items each year), how long it takes the other libraries to respond to us, the delivery system, and other factors. Three to six weeks is usual, or it may take several months.
The library system will notify you when interlibrary loan materials are ready for you to use. You may want to call the library where the material is waiting to find out more about what has arrived for you, and whether it can be checked out or must be used within the library. The only place to which we do not deliver interlibrary loans is the Bellingham Public Library or the Fairhaven branch; items to be picked up there must be ordered through the Bellingham Public Library interlibrary loan department.
Borrowing periods are set by the libraries that loan to us; often three weeks, but occasionally shorter.
If you have questions about the status of your request, please call your local library .
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