Anyone who has a current Lee County Library card and is in good standing can use the service. Note: If your home library is in a southwest Florida county other than Lee County and you are not paying for a visitor card, you are likely a reciprocal borrower. Reciprocal borrowing card holders should ask about ILL services in their home libraries.
What type of materials can I request?You can request books, microforms, musical scores, and copies of articles. If we only own a book in ebook format, we will request a print copy for you. We will also request large print copies of books if we only have the book in regular type.
How many requests can I place?You may have three active requests at a time, including photocopy requests.
Are there any charges for ILL?Staff will always attempt to locate items that are free of charge. However, some materials can only be found in lending libraries that charge a fee to borrow or photocopy materials. If a request is not available for free, you will be contacted about whether you are willing to pay for the item. Any request with a fee will not be placed until the borrower confirms that they are okay with the charge. Payment is required for these items upon pick up or use at the library. Once the item has shipped, you will be responsible for the charge even if you do not pick up the item.
Are there any late return or lost charges?All ILL material must be returned on time and will accrue late fees. If item is lost or damaged, the lending library will determine the replacement charges.
How long will it take to get my materials?It may take 4 to 6 weeks to either obtain the material or exhaust all avenues for obtaining the material. The time needed depends on availability, location of material and the delivery method.
How long can I use the ILL material?ILL material is checked out for 2 weeks.
Can I request genealogy materials?For general information on genealogy resources, please visit our
Genealogy page.
You can request genealogy material through Interlibrary Loan. Due to the age and rarity of genealogy materials, many libraries will offer to make copies in lieu of sending full books. Some libraries will send items but ask that they be used in the library rather than being checked out.
Certain genealogy material is available only in microfiche or microfilm format. There are microform reader/printer machines at our
Cape Coral-Lee County Public Library and
Fort Myers Regional Library locations. If the material is available in microform format, you will need to use it at one of these locations.