The Interlibrary Loan department fulfills requests from students, faculty, and staff for borrowing books, journals, articles, and other materials from other libraries. Libraries may send portions of copyrighted works to other libraries as long as the items are not borrowed as a means of avoiding purchase or subscription.
ILL assumes all requests are for private research, scholarship, and research and pays appropriate licensing fees when and if needed to clear copyright for ILL-use. Requests for any purpose other than those mentioned above, including class postings, should not be fulfilled through ILL.
ILL adds a copyright statement to the delivery notice to alert the requester of copyright implications should the user decide to use it for a different purpose. In this case, the responsibility to seek copyright clearance or to remain compliant falls on the user.
To obtain materials for class use, including postings to Canvas, instructors should consider the following options:
- Check the library holdings and journal databases to see if SMU has the item in question available. Library e-resources usually include licensing for classroom use.
- Talk to your subject librarian about purchasing the item for the SMU library.
- Talk to the SMU Bookstore about course packet options.
For further information regarding copyrighted materials and classroom instruction, see our Fair Use page For Instructors.
For inquiries, e-mail the office at ill@smu.edu.