What is Interlibrary Loan?
Interlibrary loan (ILL) is a way of obtaining books from other libraries when a particular title is not available at the New Haven Free Public Library. Average wait time for an ILL book is four to six weeks. If you need a book sooner, you may wish to borrow it directly from a neighboring library. *Please note that you may borrow books from any public library in Connecticut using your New Haven Free Public Library card.
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Eligibility
Interlibrary loan service is available to New Haven residents who have a valid library card.
Allowable Items
In addition to books, the following may be requested using Interlibrary Loan: books on CD, audiobooks, sound recordings/CDs, and DVDs. The following items cannot be requested: new materials, reference books, textbooks, articles, magazines, and newspapers.
Returning ILL Items
ILL items can be returned at any NHFPL location. ILL items are marked separately from other library books with a specific ILL strap that should not be removed during the loan. We ask that all borrowers keep these straps intact on ILL items to help with the timely return of these items to their home libraries.
Requests
Please note that a patron can have no more than five ILL items pending or in circulation at a time. For example, if a patron has five ILL items checked out, they must return them before they can submit further requests. If a patron has five pending ILL requests in process, they cannot submit further requests. If a patron has a combination of pending and checked out ILL items equaling five, they must wait until at least one ILL items is returned before they can submit another request.
Requests should be placed by phone and materials may be picked up and returned to any NHFPL branch. Or you may request via the form below:
Request an Interlibrary Loan Item
We aim to obtain requested materials as often as we are able. Please be advised that we can make no guarantees that all requests will be able to be fulfilled or how long it takes for requests to become available.