Interlibrary Loan Services

Search Marina, the Maryland interlibrary loan system, and enter your request.

The Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service supports Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) by providing enhanced access to library materials and information. The purposes of ILL are to obtain materials not available within MCPL, as well as to provide MCPL material to other library systems. MCPL affirms that ILL is an adjunct tool—not a substitute—for MCPL’s collection. In meeting customer needs, MCPL will exhaust local resources first.

What to know about Marina and OCLC loans:

• Marina loans are for 3 weeks. There is no fee for the loan.
• Marina items can be renewed for you by a staff member, up to 2 times.
• Maryland libraries choose what materials they are willing to lend via Marina.  Some do not lend audiovisual materials or new books. MCPL does not request materials from outside libraries that have been published within the past 12 months.
• If what you are looking for is not located through Marina, an "ILL Loan Request" link appears for you to complete a form for an item loan. The request goes beyond Maryland to OCLC, a national interlibrary loan service. Items already owned or on order by MCPL will not be requested from a Marina or OCLC library.
  • OCLC loan periods are set by the lending library and may be a few days to several weeks long. 
  • OCLC items cannot be renewed.
  • OCLC loans may have a fee, set by the lender, and the form will ask you to indicate the amount you are willing to pay.
  • Fees for photocopies are set by the lending library.
• MCPL cardholders with accounts "in good standing" may request material through ILL. An account "in good standing" is defined as an account where the fines total less than $25. The ILL borrowing privileges of customers who accumulate fines of $25 or more, or whose account has been sent to a collection agency, are suspended (i.e., customers are unable to log in to Marina and request materials) until sufficient payments are made to reduce the overall balance to less than $25.
• To make changes to your Marina or OCLC request, please contact ILL Services directly and as soon as possible. Changes made through your online account or your local branch will not be automatically applied to your Marina or OCLC requests. This includes changing item pick-up location, cancelling, or editing your hold. ILL materials may not be "suspended" in MCPL's holds queue. These materials are filled upon receipt by the lender and are sent to MCPL upon fulfillment.

A few more things to know about interlibrary loan:

• You will be notified, by email or by mail, when the item reaches your branch, just as you are for holds on titles MCPL owns.
• MCPL charges a $1.00 fee for holds not picked up or cancelled within 10 days of the notification of their availability. This fee applies to interlibrary loan items.
• Overdue fines are the same as fines for MCPL overdue items.
• If an interlibrary loan item is lost or damaged, you will be responsible for the costs as stipulated by the lender; most libraries will not accept substitute/replacement copies. Charges will be reflected on your account and may impact your borrowing privileges. To discuss damages, loss or cost of an ILL item, please contact ILL Services directly and as soon as possible.
• You may have a maximum of 30 hold requests on your account at one time. This includes holds for materials owned by MCPL and interlibrary loan requests.
• Microfilm or microfiche will only be sent to and must be used at Rockville Memorial Library.
• For help with finding or requesting items, please contact Ask-a-Librarian or your local branch. For overdue issues, contact ILL Services directly and as soon as possible.
• MCPL cannot fill requests for downloadable or electronic resources through ILL. Customers may search for and checkout e-books, e-audiobooks and e-magazines from MCPL's e-library.

Contact Interlibrary Loan (ILL Services)

By phone at 240-777-0046 (Please have your library card number ready) or by using the form below.