What is Borrow Direct?

• Borrow Direct is an interlibrary borrowing service that allows Yale faculty, students and staff to request books directly from other participating university libraries.  The service allows readers to request items without staff mediation and provides fast, reliable delivery.
• Requests can be submitted 24/7 via the web; use the Borrow Direct link on the Library Front Door or the URL http://www.library.yale.edu/ill/borrowdirect.html .
• Readers can search Borrow Direct by keyword, or use advanced search for title, author, subject, or ISBN.

Eligibility

• Yale faculty, students and staff who have NetIDs and active Yale email accounts can access Borrow Direct. 
• A library patron who is blocked in Orbis will not be able to access Borrow Direct.

Participating institutions

• Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University.
• Each participating institution determines which of its libraries and collections will be available through Borrow Direct.

Readers may request:

• Books not owned by Yale libraries.
• Books that are currently unavailable from a Yale library--books that are checked out, missing*, non-circulating, on reserve, at the bindery, or on order.
• Books that normally circulate from the collections of the participating libraries.

* To request a missing book through Borrow Direct, the Orbis record must be coded to indicate the appropriate status.  If Orbis shows that a book is “not checked out,” Borrow Direct will not accept a request for it.  If a book is not found in the stacks, ask Access Services staff at the Circulation Desk to update the record to “missing.” 

Readers will not be able to request:

• Books currently available at Yale libraries, i.e., Orbis status “Not checked out”
• Journals, magazines, other serial publications or newspapers
• Photocopies of journal articles, conference proceedings, books chapters, etc. (use ILL for these materials)
• Reference books, other materials designated non-circulating, microfilm, and some videos, DVDs, or CDs
• Books from libraries and collections that have a circulation period of less than 12 weeks

Fast delivery

• Most books will be available for pickup at the selected Yale pickup location within four (4) business days from the date the request was submitted.

Loan period

• The loan period is 6 weeks, with the option to renew once for another 6 weeks.
• Books borrowed through Borrow Direct may be recalled by the owning library.  A recalled book is due within 5 days of the recall notice.
• One renewal of 6 weeks is available through your Orbis account.

Multi-volume titles

• The reader may request up to 5 volumes in one request by including the volume numbers in the note field.
• If more than 5 volumes are required, submit an additional request(s).
• If no volume is specified, the lending library will send the first volume of the set or title.

Notification of request status and item availability

• The reader will receive automatic email notices throughout the processing of each request—request acknowledged, item shipped, item available for pickup, and return of item acknowledged.
• In addition, the reader can check on the status of current requests by logging in to Borrow Direct and clicking the “My Account” link. Click on a request number for more information on that request.

Pickup locations

• Six Yale libraries are pickup locations for Borrow Direct—Bass, Divinity, Engineering, Kline Science, Medical, and Social Science libraries. 
• The reader will be prompted to select a pickup location before the Borrow Direct request can be submitted.

Items not available through Borrow Direct

Use Interlibrary Loan services to request materials not available through Borrow Direct.

Login Problems

You will be unable to log in to Borrow Direct if you have a hold on your Yale Library account. Please contact staff in the privileges office at smlcirc@yale.edu or call 203-432-7189 for assistance with your library account.

Comments, questions, or problems?

Although Borrow Direct requests are self-initiated, help is available.  Questions, problems, and comments can be sent via email to borrowdirect@yale.edu or call 203-432-8968.