We provide materials that are needed for research purposes and that are not available at the UC Law SF Law Library. Interlibrary Loan services are provided only for UC Law SF faculty, journals, law students, and law school staff.
How much does it cost?
We attempt to borrow for free. If the lender charges more than $15, we pass that cost on to the borrower. You will be notified before the order is placed if a cost is involved.
Please allow 2 to 3 weeks for delivery of print materials and 1 to 2 weeks for PDFs of articles. When requesting print materials, please be aware that the time taken for materials to arrive depends upon the difficulty of the request, the proximity of the lending library to UC Law SF, and how much time lending libraries take to fill the request.
You, the borrower, are financially responsible for any damage to or loss of interlibrary loan materials, from the time you pick them up until you they are successfully received by the UC Law SF Law Library. Materials borrowed on behalf of a student journal are the responsibility of the journal. Should any damage occur, report it to the UC Law SF Interlibrary Loan Department. Do not attempt to repair the damage yourself.
What materials can I borrow?
We borrow books, theses, dissertations, and some materials produced in microform. We also borrow PDFs of book chapters and articles, in accordance with US copyright law. Items missing from the UC Law SF Law Library may also be borrowed.
What materials am I not able to borrow?
Casebooks/textbooks for current courses (including older editions); books owned by this library and temporarily in use; periodical volumes; materials intended for reserve; bulky or fragile items; audio tapes, videotapes, and compact discs; reference books; and rare or valuable materials such as manuscripts.
In addition, journal students checking source citations for their editing assignments may not borrow materials that are available in print at the main branch of the San Francisco Public Library, which is only one block from UC Law SF.
The loan period and renewal options are determined by the lending library. The loan period is usually 2 to 4 weeks. Photocopies and PDFs of articles may be kept by the requestor. If you would like to request a renewal, do so through your Tipasa account.
When materials arrive, you will receive an email notification. Except when borrowed on behalf of a student journal, print materials will be held for seven days behind the Circulation Desk in the Library. If they are not picked up within this time-frame they will be returned to the lending library. Materials borrowed on behalf of student journals will be held for the duration of the current semester, if possible. PDFs of articles will be stored on the Tipasa server for 30 days. You will receive an email notifying you that the PDF is available for you to download. You should then log in to your Tipasa account to download the article.
All materials borrowed through Interlibrary Loan must be returned to the UC Law SF Law Library Circulation Desk. Late return of materials jeopardizes the ability of the UC Law SF Law Library to borrow from libraries in the future.
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction.
One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purposes other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would violate copyright law.