Frequently Asked Questions: Ekstrom Library

The short answer is maybe! The longer answer is a bit complicated: While purchasing textbooks is often considered part of usual college expenses—along with paying tuition, buying school supplies, and a meal plan—Ekstrom Library wants to make textbooks more affordable for UofL’s students when and where we can. You might consider using interlibrary loan (ILL) to request your course books. Before doing so, understand that there are several systemic issues that may cause a request to be rejected or cancelled. Categories of items that are most likely to be approved follow in the next section.

Items Ekstrom Can’t Request (Barriers to Access)

• Many textbooks, lab manuals, and course packs are created especially for and used only by the University of Louisville and its professors, so they are not available anywhere else for ILL to request for your use.
• Few libraries in the country purchase textbooks due to costs associated with acquiring the newest editions each year. Of the few libraries that do, their collection is usually reserved for their students and is not loaned to other libraries.
• Even fewer libraries have the newest editions as soon as they are printed and required for use by professors for classes. Older editions can be requested, though there may not be a lending library willing or able to send them, and they may be less useful because readings are generally based on the newest edition.
• Any textbook that requires a course code or unique access pass cannot be loaned, as the access number comes directly from the publisher and is one-time use only.
• E-book copies of textbooks cannot be requested via interlibrary loan, though individual chapters of certain materials can be requested.

Items Ekstrom Can Request (Categories Available for Approval)

Despite these issues, some items listed as “textbooks” in course syllabi can be requested through interlibrary loan! While it’s difficult to predict exactly what other libraries will loan, Ekstrom can send requests for items that fall into these categories:

• Literature(edition specific or not). Examples: Beowulf; Jane Eyre; Beloved; Things Fall Apart.
• Monographs (edition specific or not). Examples: The Feminine Mystique; The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916; The Return of Martin Guerre.
• Films: many films or movies required for classes can be requested as DVD or Blu-ray copies through interlibrary loan. Ekstrom Library has portable DVD/Blu-ray players available for checkout. Examples: Citizen Kane; Super Size Me; Space Jam.

More questions? We’re here to help!
If you have more questions or comments about this ILL policy, please contact Nicholas Sweat, the Interlibrary Loan Supervisor.