Interlibrary Loan: Copyright Guidelines and Best Practices, Copyright [e-Book] Clearance Center, 2013.Sharing materials between academic libraries, whether lending or borrowing, is critical to meeting the content needs of patrons. Many interlibrary loan (ILL) transactions involve sending or transmitting materials such as journal articles and photocopies that are not returned. While U.S. copyright law addresses non-returnables, there are some areas that still present challenges for librarians. Section 108 of the Copyright Act of 1976 addresses reproduction of copyrighted materials by libraries and archives for several purposes, including ILL. Qualifying libraries may send portions of copyrighted works to other qualifying libraries, as long as the “aggregate quantity” doesn’t replace a purchase of or subscription to the work. But Section 108 does not define “aggregate quantity,” leaving librarians to interpret the spirit of the law.
