Interlibrary loan (ILL) is a primary service of Greensboro Public Library (GPL). It is intended to complement the GPL collection, rather than to serve as a substitute for proper collection development. Through ILL, GPL offers customers access to materials in other libraries and offers customers in other libraries access to its collection, thereby extending the resources of all cooperating libraries. Greensboro Public Library abides by the National Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States, 2016.

ILL Borrowing

Eligibility 

• ILL is available to anyone with a valid Greensboro Public Library account in good standing.
• Requests can be made in person, by phone, or with the form on the library's web page.
• Customers may have two requests per month, two loans at one time, and a total of twenty-four requests per year.
• GPL will not process requests for the same item within a six-month period.
• Customers who abuse the ILL privilege in any way may have that privilege revoked.

Fees

• Greensboro Public Library will absorb operating costs for ILL, and requests will be submitted to libraries who do not charge lending fees whenever possible. 
• If an item is only available from a library that charges lending fees, prior approval will be obtained from the customer before the request is completed. 
• Approved fees will be added to the customer’s account, and must be paid when the item is borrowed. These fees will remain on the customer’s account if the item is not picked up.
• Overdue charges and charges for lost or damaged materials levied by the lending library are the responsibility of the borrowing customer and will be added to their account.

Circulation

• Arrival time depends on the lending library but is usually within two weeks.
• All items must be picked up from and returned to the Central Library Circulation desk.
• Removal of the ILL book cover and use of the book drop are not allowed.
• Customers must return books by the due date. Renewals are not allowed.

GPL will not request the following:

• Materials published in the last twelve months. Customers should submit a purchase request for new books through their GPL library account.
• Digital materials.
• Audiovisual materials.
• Materials that are in GPL's collection. Customers should place holds on circulating materials.
• Textbooks or other obviously academic materials. Faculty and students should contact their institutions for academic ILLs.
• Books with a replacement cost of $75 or more.
• Rare materials owned by fewer than five libraries.
• Materials lost or missing from GPL's collection that are still in print and appropriate to replace. Such items will be re-ordered, and the customer may place holds on them.
• Materials from libraries outside the United States. 

Anyone who submits a form should be aware that in accordance with the North Carolina Public Records law, found in North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 132, their e-mail address is considered public record.