I-Share Resource Sharing Code

The first LCS Interlibrary Borrowing Code was approved in February 1981 and revised in June 1987. An interim policy statement, approved by the ILCSO (Illinois Library Computer Systems Organization) Policy Council in February 1990, addressed the expansion of LCS/FBR, which was renamed “ILLINET Online,” and the extension of institutional remote charging privileges to the entire statewide ILLINET membership. A general revision of the Code was carried out in 1992 to further clarify the opportunities and responsibilities that characterize resource sharing on a statewide basis.

The replacement of the LCS/FBR version of ILLINET Online with DRA software in 1998 implemented the concept of “request” in place of the former concept of “remote charge.” With the implementation of the Endeavor (later Ex Libris) Voyager integrated library system in 2002, the concept of “request” in Voyager was continued, with users able to place a request for local material or a request for material at other ILCSO libraries through Voyager’s Universal Borrowing (UB) component.

In July 2005, ILCSO consolidated its operations with the Illinois Cooperative Collection Management Program (ICCMP) and the Illinois Digital Academic Library (IDAL) to become the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI). The CARLI Board approved a change of the name of the shared online system from ILLINET Online to “I-Share” and decided to refer to the libraries participating in the shared system as the I-Share libraries. The Spring 2006 revision of the Code reflected those changes in names.

In 2008, the CARLI Board approved a recommendation to implement a consortial standard set of I-Share loan periods, renewal policies and standardized thresholds for blocking privileges for users violating these policies. The 2010 revision of the Code incorporated those changes. The 2012 version of the Code expanded upon the standard policies and eliminated overdue fines on I-Share loans.

The I-Share participant institutions migrated from the Ex Libris’ Voyager library management system to Ex Libris’ Alma library services platform in June 2020. This 2021 revision of the Code removes Voyager-specific terminology and adds clarifications about I-Share institutions’ collections housed outside Illinois and shipping materials to remote users. This version also adds the requirements for I-Share libraries to publicly post their facility hours and access policies, and to keep their user records in I-Share as current as possible. Also, as of 2021, CARLI has discontinued the I-Share direct borrowing service for ILLINET libraries, so all references to “Institutional Borrowers” have been deleted. Finally, this revision includes references to the January 2021 elimination of fines for overdue materials and processing fees for I-Share participant institutions.

Resource sharing and interlibrary loan are adjunct to, not substitutes for, collection development in individual libraries. The exchange of materials between libraries is an important element in the provision of library service and it is believed to be in the public interest to encourage such an exchange.

I-Share libraries and their users may use I-Share’s resource sharing services as an extension to their library's collection to place requests for circulating materials held at any I-Share library.

1. Block: A status that prevents a user from checking out, renewing, or requesting materials until the status is cleared. A block stops borrowing privileges but allows the user to continue to accrue fines, receive notices, and access their account information. Blocks are usually triggered by reaching maximum thresholds set by the user’s home institution (for local circulation) or by the consortium (for items requested through resource sharing). A user blocked from further I-Share resource sharing transactions at an individual I-Share institution may or may not be also blocked by their home library for local circulation.
2. Home library: The I-Share participant institution with which a user is affiliated (e.g., as a current student, faculty, or staff member), and which has afforded them library privileges.
3. I-Share participant institution: Any of the CARLI member institutions that are current participants in good standing in CARLI’s consortial contract for a shared library management system that is referred to by the name “I-Share”.
4. ILDS: Illinois Library Delivery Service. ILDS is a dedicated surface delivery system, funded by the Illinois State Library. ILDS provides delivery between Illinois libraries at no charge to the borrower and no transaction cost to the libraries. I-Share libraries are expected to use ILDS to route materials to other Illinois libraries whenever possible.
5. In transit: A status code that indicates that an item is in route to or from its owning library.
6. Local privilege user: A user whose borrowing privileges are valid only at their home library and therefore is not allowed to place I-Share requests or borrow items onsite at other I-Share participant institutions. Examples include alumni, community residents not otherwise affiliated with the institution, and visitors with temporary use permits.
7. Local request materials: Items for which requests may be placed but for which ILDS delivery is not an option. Local request materials include items with loan periods of one week or less and which may be of a format, condition, or size that precludes shipping.
8. Onsite resource sharing loan: An onsite lending transaction performed at an I-Share library other than the user's home library.
9. Owning library: The library to which an item belongs.
10. Patron: A term used interchangeably with “User.”
11. Recall: The process used by library staff to request the return of an item currently on loan by notifying the user to return the item, possibly sooner than the original due date assigned when the item was loaned.
12. Resource sharing: In the I-Share context, resource sharing is the lending of items owned by one I-Share institution to a patron affiliated with another I-Share institution using the I-Share system.
13. Resource sharing transactions: Transactions between the item owning library and the individual borrowing user, whereas “interlibrary loan” refers to a transaction where a library borrows an item from another library for one of its users.

The purpose of resource sharing, as defined in this Code, is to extend the library resources available to I-Share participant institutions’ users, providing the maximum of access, with the minimum of barriers.

I-Share resource sharing, i.e., remote, or onsite user-initiated or staff-mediated borrowing of materials held by other I-Share participant institutions, is intended to serve the I-Share participant institutions’ primary clientele including current students, faculty, and staff. I-Share resource sharing is not to be used to provide interlibrary borrowing services to the broader public, e.g., alumni, community residents, permit holders, or other institutional partners that are not I-Share participant institutions. While an I-Share participant institution may opt to serve these individuals or organizations from their own collection, these users should be directed to their local public library for interlibrary loan services.

Under the terms of this agreement, it is permissible to request any type of library material with the following exceptions:

1. Items that are non-circulating, on reserve, or are otherwise request-exempt, are typically not available for I-Share resource sharing. Onsite borrowing or use of these materials may be allowed depending on the policies of the owning library.
2. Requests for items that are in a format or condition that precludes the advisability of shipping may be denied at the discretion of the owning library.
3. Requests for non-returnable materials such as photocopies and digital images, and use of electronic materials or collections, are outside the scope of this document.

1. Users may request loanable materials from another I-Share participant institution remotely for delivery to their home library or to another I-Share pickup location or may borrow items in person at other I-Share libraries.
2. Users visiting other I-Share library facilities must abide by the visitor policies of the institution and library building which they are visiting.
3. When borrowing materials onsite at another I-Share participant’s library, users must present a current, valid identification card from their home I-Share institution, bearing their name and library identification number. A photo ID may be requested. I-Share participant institutions are not expected to extend borrowing privileges to “local-privilege” or “restricted users” affiliated with other I-Share participant institutions.
4. Users may specify any eligible I-Share pickup location for their remote requests. This may be a “third” institution that is neither the item owning library or the institution with which the user is affiliated.
5. Users shall receive the I-Share consortial standard loan privileges as defined in the Appendix to this Code.
6. Users are not charged overdue fines by their home or other I-Share library except for special designated collections such as reserves and loanable equipment.
7. Users are subject to the I-Share consortial standard policies for lost and damaged materials.
8. Users who reside outside of Illinois, or otherwise need delivery that cannot be provided through ILDS, should consult with their home library about their library’s options and policies for shipping materials.

1. I-Share libraries are expected to keep their user records up to date to the best of their ability. This includes adding and updating records for current users, expiring, and deleting records for users no longer affiliated with the institution, and applying and removing any blocks of privileges in timely fashion. Each I-Share institution should update their user records at least once a year and should set user expiration dates that are in line with the timeframe the user is expected to be affiliated with the institution.
2. I-Share libraries are expected to post their current schedules, building access, and resource sharing policies prominently on their websites.
3. No transaction fees shall be charged for I-Share remote or onsite borrowing transactions except as noted under the provisions for "Express" (Rush/Urgent) requests in the ILLINET Interlibrary Loan Code Section VII. Also, in keeping with the ILLINET Interlibrary Loan Code Section VIII.4, "If a library chooses not to use … the Illinois Library Delivery Service, the library shall negotiate alternate shipping conditions with the requesting/owning library prior to shipment of the item."
4. Remote requests for circulating materials by I-Share participant institutions’ users shall be honored and promptly filled. Another I-Share institution’s user shall receive the I-Share standard borrowing policies outlined in the Appendix to this Code.
5. I-Share libraries shall freely grant I-Share library users onsite access to their libraries wherever possible, as allowed by their institution’s building access and security policies. Onsite borrowing requests by valid users for circulating materials must be honored, unless the institution issuing the user ID has limited the user to local privileges only (i.e., privileges only at the home library), or the user is blocked from I-Share transactions.
6. I-Share libraries are not required to provide users affiliated with other I-Share libraries physical access to, or circulation privileges for special collections, reserve materials, rental items or spaces, or other programs or services.
7. As specified in the ILLINET Interlibrary Loan Code Section V.2, processing of requests must be completed within a maximum of three working days (typically Monday-Friday exclusive of holidays) of receipt of the request. I-Share libraries are obligated to attempt to process I-Share requests every working day. This includes searching for items, filling, and canceling requests. Processing requests also includes retrieving and packaging of materials, and the actual pick-up by an interlibrary delivery service (ILDS), or notification of the library's inability to fill the request.
8. If a request cannot be filled, the owning library must cancel the request promptly (within three working days) and make any necessary changes to the status of the item to prevent subsequent requests from targeting an unavailable item.
9. I-Share participant institutions shall not override borrowing privilege blocks for their own or other I-Share participant institutions’ users in order to allow the loan or renewal of other I-Share libraries’ materials without permission of the user’s and owning libraries.
10. Recalling items in circulation may only be done by the staff of the item’s owning library.
11. Returned items should be promptly checked in at the I-Share participant institution to which they are returned, even if it is not the owning library. An exception is made for damaged material, for which the workflow should follows the CARLI’s best practices for damaged items.
12. The owning library should promptly e-mail any overdue, recall, billing, or other notices to the user. If an e-mail address is not available, the user’s home institution should be notified so that an e-mail address can be added to the user’s account.
13. I-Share libraries shall not charge overdue fines to their own or other I-Share libraries’ users for their main circulating collections. Fines may apply to special collections such as reserve materials and loanable equipment.
14. It is the responsibility of the owning library to prepare any bills for lost and/or damaged materials. These bills should clearly indicate the items for which charges are being assessed, and the agency, be it a library address or campus business office address, to which payment or replacement should be made. I-Share libraries may not charge a bill processing fee in addition to a replacement charge.
15. Only authorized I-Share library staff may access and view personally identifiable information, and only with the user’s permission or as required to carry out fulfillment or billing transactions for the user. Each I-Share participant institution is expected to develop and enforce a policy on the confidentiality of user records. Policy statements should stress the requirements for providing user privacy in relation to the use of library ID numbers, address data, status information e.g., blocks, the user’s borrowing activity, and the content of a user’s account. Policy statements should also specify the process under which violations will be handled. Each I-Share participant institution should be able to provide copies of their confidentiality policy to individual users or other I-Share library staff upon request.
16. Under no circumstances may an I-Share library store a user’s Social Security Number in I-Share or require a Social Security Number from another library for billing or other purposes.
17. I-Share institutions with campus libraries located outside of Illinois are not required to make these collections available for I-Share resource sharing. Should they choose to do so, the costs of shipping these materials to and from Illinois are the responsibility of the item’s owning institution.
18. If libraries choose to send I-Share materials directly to the user (e.g., home delivery, or delivery out of Illinois), the cost of the shipping both ways must be covered by the user's home institution or the user.

1. Thresholds for blocking users’ I-Share privileges are outlined in the Appendix to this Code.
2. As stated in the Agreement for I-Share Participant Institutions (2015), The user's home institution must assist the owning institution in the recovery of overdue materials as well as lost and/or damaged material charges. However, the user’s home I-Share institution may not be held responsible for the unpaid bills its users owe to other I-Share participant institutions.
3. I-Share libraries may charge a replacement fee for a lost or damaged item but may not append a bill processing fee to the charge.
4. Materials that can be proven to have been lost in transit (with documentation such as, item status of “Route”, delivery bag numbers, log sheets, return dates, and/or other records) shall not be billed to the user and should be reported to the CARLI Office.

I-Share participant institutions that do not follow the provisions of this Code shall be notified in writing by the CARLI Board of Directors, and uncorrected violations may lead to sanctions as outlined in the Agreement for I-Share Participant Institutions.