Skip to main content

Outerlibrary Loan

 

Outerlibrary Loan (OLL) FAQ

 

Make an OLL Request

Borrow materials or obtain photocopies of items from across the country
 

Recommend a Purchase

Recommend an item for the Library to purchase

About Outerlibrary Loan (OLL)

Millions of books and other materials are within your reach.

OuterLibrary Loan (OLL) is the process of sharing (lending/borrowing) materials between libraries. It allows our patrons to borrow materials or obtain photocopies from items that aren't owned in LINKcat.

When requesting items at a Madison Public Library location through Outerlibrary Loan please be aware of the following:

  • You must have a valid SCLS public library card in good standing. We cannot initiate an outerlibrary loan request if you have fines exceeding $20.00, an outstanding lost or damaged charge for another outerlibrary loan item (regardless of amount), a 'stop' on your card, an active payment plan, or an Easy Access or reciprocal library card.
  • A maximum of fifty (50) Outerlibrary Loan requests per person will be accepted within a calendar year.
  • Please limit your requests to 5 or fewer per day.
  • Loan periods on outerlibrary loan items are four weeks, and renewals are not possible, so please plan accordingly.
  • Fines on outerlibrary loan items are still $1 per day.
  • As a courtesy to all libraries, we do not request materials that have been in publication for fewer than 6 months (as listed on Amazon.com).
  • You must wait 8 weeks from the date you submitted a request before re-requesting the same item. (This includes items which we were not able to obtain and items for which the pick-up was missed.)
  • Only a small percentage of libraries listed in WorldCat are accessible lenders and an even smaller percentage are willing to lend audiovisual materials.
  • Not everything can be requested through outerlibrary loan and not all requests can be filled.
  • Items must be returned to a Madison Public Library location.

Outerlibrary Loan (OLL) FAQ

OuterLibrary Loan (OLL) is our name for borrowing items from libraries that are outside the South Central Library System. Many other libraries call this Interlibrary Loan (ILL). We borrow from other Wisconsin library systems, and certain libraries nationwide.

Before requesting something through outerlibrary loan, please make sure that we do not own the item, or that you have otherwise exhausted our local resources. For example, many full-text magazine and journal articles can be found in EBSCO databases. Newspaper articles are available in LexisNexis, NewspaperArchive, and Newspaper Source Plus. While we may not own a particular title on your topic, we might own many others that would meet your needs. A librarian will be happy to help you locate information on a particular subject, so please ask.

You can use the OLL service if you are a resident of Adams, Columbia, Dane, Green, Portage, Sauk, or Wood County; have a full-use (not virtual or Easy Access) library card in good standing; and are able to pick up and return your borrowed item at a Madison Public Library location.

If you want to pick the item up at a South Central Library System library outside of Madison, please contact that library directly to make your request.

We accept requests for most items that are not found in LINKcat, including books, audio books, DVDs, and CDs. Photocopies of magazine articles or short sections of books can generally be obtained as well, subject to copyright restrictions.  Items published within the last 6 months may not be requested.

Items that may be hard for us to get include:

  • Books on tape (audiocassette) or CD
  • DVDs or VHS tapes, especially feature films
  • Music on CD or audiocassette
  • Language learning kits (especially Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone)
  • CD-ROMS
  • Newspapers on microfilm
  • Thesis dissertations
  • Complete (orchestral) musical scores

  • Items published or released within the last 6 months
  • Reference books, rare books, or very old items (100+ years)
  • Genealogical materials. For more about genealogical research, please refer to the Wisconsin Historical Society Library.
  • eBooks and electronic journals
  • Phonograph records/vinyl
  • Entire issues of magazines
  • Computer/software games

There's no direct cost to you for OLL services. We do charge overdue fines of $1.00/day, and we pass on any charges for lost or damaged items that the owning library bills us for.

We can only borrow from libraries that do not charge us a fee for their service, which means that there are many lenders we can't even send requests to. Patrons sometimes ask if they can pay the lending library's fee in these cases, but Wisconsin public libraries are not permitted to pass on any direct charges for this basic service to our patrons. 

If you have confirmed that the item you need is not in the LINKcat catalog (or, in the case of newspaper or magazine articles, is not available full-text in the EBSCO, ProQuest, or Newspaper Archive) you may submit a request by contacting your local Madison Public Library, or using our online Outerlibrary Loan Request Form.

Titles published within the last 6 months (with the exception of magazine/newspaper articles) may not be requested.

Please provide as much information as possible to help identify the specific item that you are seeking. (For example, in addition to the title, the author, publisher, etc. In the case of movies, please provide an actor, director, or year released.) When submitting a request for articles, please include all of the citation information given in the source of your citation. Do not use abbreviations unless the source of the citation uses them.

Your local public library staff can help you find information on a particular subject, so please ask. Because of the time and expense involved in outerlibrary loan, before requesting something through outerlibrary loan, please make sure that you have fully explored our local resources. Most often, while we may not own a specific title on your topic, we probably own others that will meet your needs, or we may be able to refer you to another local library (such as a UW campus library) that has what you need. Many full-text magazine and journal articles can be found in EBSCO databases. Newspaper articles are often available in NewspaperArchives, or another newspaper database to which we subscribe.

Five per day, with a maximum of 50 per calendar year.

Delivery of OLL items can take from 2 - 8 weeks. We have no control over which library will lend us an item, and thus we can't ever guarantee when an OLL item will arrive.

We'll send you a notice via email or U.S. mail explaining why we weren't able to get the item you requested.

Call your local library staff.

You will be notified when the item is available for pickup in the same way you are notified of your regular LINKcat holds. OLL items can only be checked out to the library card that was used to request the item, even if you have a hold pickup authorization on file.

We allow four weeks of use, but no renewals. Please plan to use your materials within the allotted time. Overdue fines on outerlibrary loan items remain $1 per day, even though MPL is otherwise fine-free.

Rarely, the lending library may recall the item and ask us to return it before the original due date. They have the right to do this, and we have to abide by that if it happens. OLL staff will contact you with a revised due date in this unusual instance.

We've recently increased our loan period from two to four weeks, but because of this change we can no longer offer renewals.

Here are just some of the reasons an item might not be available for us to borrow.

  • The owning library doesn't participate in outerlibrary loan.
  • The owning library doesn't lend to us for free.
  • Many libraries do not lend movies, music, and microfilm.
  • The only owning libraries are overseas.
  • The item is in use or is very popular at the owning library.
  • The item is too new to lend. Every library has their own definition of "too new."
  • The item may be lost, missing, damaged, or no longer owned.
  • Some libraries just say “no” without specifying a reason; they are not obligated to do so.
  • Refer to What kinds of materials cannot normally be borrowed? for further information.

 

Submit an OLL Request

Borrow materials or copies of articles unavailable in LINKcat from libraries across the nation.

Outerlibrary loan (OLL) is a borrowing privilege available to residents of Adams, Columbia, Dane, Green, Portage, Sauk, and Wood County, who have a full-use (not virtual or Easy Access) library card.

PLEASE NOTE these recent changes to OLL services:

  • Longer checkout periods (now four weeks)
  • NO RENEWALS
  • OLL items still incur overdue fines of $1.00/day

Use this form to request things that aren’t owned in LINKCat. 

Fields marked with an asterisk are required.

Contact Info

Enter your full name
Enter your complete barcode (14 digits). Do not include any spaces or punctuation in the barcode.
Use the pull down box to choose a "need-by" time. Please note that we cannot guarantee a specific delivery date. If you do not need this item by a specific time, leave this field set to "None". 

Item Information

Book/Movie/Music Information
Type of Media
Choose the type of media you would like for this item. If more than one type of media is acceptable, please list additional acceptable formats in the "Additonal Comments" field.
Article Information
Book Chapter Information
Enter any additional information or clarification that might help to process this request. You can cut and paste basic bibliographic information here. If you would be willing to accept a portion of an item (chapter, poem, essay, etc.), please indicate that in this field.  If you must have a very specific edition, version, or printing, please indicate it here.

When you're all set, click the "Submit" button at the bottom of the page.

The Fine Print

  • We’ll do our best, but not all items are able to be borrowed.
  • It could take several weeks for your request to be completed.
  • You must live in the South Central Library System and have a valid card with no lost charges to use this service.
  • You must be willing to pick up and return your items to a Madison Public Library location.
  • No more than five requests per day and 50 per year.

For further information visit our OLL FAQ’s, or call 608-266-6302.

United States Copyright Law

The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. 

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific 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 for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. 

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

**The form may take a few seconds to process. Please DO NOT click the "Submit" button multiple times. Please be patient and wait for the confirmation message to appear.**

CAPTCHA
2 + 4 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.