Welcome back, everyone!  We hope you had a good winter break.

If you use interlibrary loan services, we have some good news.  We’re happy to announce that the GC library has a new pilot project, in which we will no longer charge late fines for items borrowed via interlibrary loan.  (Please note that this does not include loans from other CUNY schools–which will continue to accrue late fines.)

You may also start seeing a new kind of notice–when interlibrary loan items have been renewed for you before you ask.  If we see an item due, and it has a renewal available, we may go ahead and renew it for you to save on back-and-forth time.  Of course, you can return the item at any time before the due date.

Keep in mind, though, that it continues to be very important for our library to protect our standing as good borrowers to the libraries that generously lend to us–around 20,000 items every year–so that we can keep borrowing materials from them for the entire GC community.

So we’ll continue to rely on you to take good care of the items you borrow and return them promptly.  This is especially important if you get an email letting you know your item is “recalled”.  That means that the library that lent the item to you really needs it back (usually for immediate use, like Course Reserves or another reader), so please do your best to return it as soon as possible.  Finally, if any items are lost or damaged in your possession, you will still be responsible for replacing it.

If you find yourself in a circumstance in which you will not be able to return an item promptly, please reach out to us at ill@gc.cuny.edu.  We are here to help you figure out any difficulties you may have.

If you have late items, you may find that you have a block in your ILL account, your CUNY library account, or your CUNYFirst account. These are meant to alert you that you should return your late items.  Please return the items as soon as possible, and/or let us know so that we can clear your account/s or help you figure out the best way to deal with any special circumstances.

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With this change, we hope to make using library resources a little bit easier–easing your burden a bit and helping you concentrate more on finding good sources for your studies, teaching, research and work.

If you have any questions, thoughts or suggestions, please let us know!  We’re always happy to hear your ideas.

Thank you for using interlibrary loan,  We hope this helps, and have a great semester!

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