LibAnswers: University Archives & Special Collections

Materials found within university archives and special collections are often non-circulating. Within the University Archives & Special Collections of the Carnegie-Vincent Library at Lincoln Memorial University, certain material cannot be lent such as the collections within the University Archives. For assistance in researching archival collections, please reach out to the University Archivist. However, items within the Special Collections may at times be loaned out on a case by case basis when researchers request published material within the Lincoln Memorial University Special Collections through Interlibrary Loan.

Although much of the Special Collections is not eligible to be loaned, loans may be considered if the material requested:

• Is in good condition
• Is not the only copy help within the Library’s collections
• Is not available from other repositories
• Is not already digitized through Internet Archive or HathiTrust

If a published item is eligible to be sent through Interlibrary Loan, the receiving institution must:

• Have their own special collections program or genealogy center with assigned staff that are aware of the specialized care and handling that is sometimes needed with special collection material
• Have a secure reading room or space that the researcher must be in to receive and read from their requested material under staff supervision
• Have a secure location that the borrowed material may be stored during its’ loan period when not in use by the Researcher who requested it
• Ensure that the loaned material does not leave the premises of the receiving institution

If material is requested through Interlibrary Loan from the Special Collections but has been deemed ineligible to be loaned, the request may be completed through scans or photocopies created by the University Archivist. These types of requests must meet the following conditions:

• The material can be safely reproduced as either a scan or a photocopy
• The resulting reproduction will not violate any copyright law
• The resulting reproduction complies with Fair Use restrictions

As a reminder, all requests of Special Collections materials through ILL will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by the Special Collections Librarian before it can be finalized by the Interlibrary Loan Librarian.

Resources Influencing this Policy:

ACRL/RBMS Guidelines for Interlibrary and Exhibition Loan of Special Collections Materials. 2012. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/specialcollections

Making Archival and Special Collections More Accessible. 2015. Dublin, Ohio: OCLC Research. http://www.oclc.org/content/dam/research/publications/2015/oclcresearch-making-special-collections-accessible-2015.pdf.

Massie, Dennis. 2013. Tiers for Fears: Sensible, Streamlined Sharing of Special Collections. Dublin, Ohio: OCLC Research. http://www.oclc.org/content/dam/research/publications/library/2013/2013-03.pdf.