Interlibrary Loan


What if PINES doesn't have what you want?

A program of the Georgia Public Library Service, Georgia Library PINES (Public Information Network for Electronic Services) is the public library automation and lending network for more than 275 libraries and affiliated service outlets in almost 140 counties. PINES creates a statewide "borderless library" that provides equal access to information for all Georgians. Georgians with a PINES library card have access to materials beyond what is available on their local shelves and enjoy the benefits of a shared collection of 9.6 million books and other materials that can be delivered to their home library free of charge.

With such a large collection available to Georgia library patrons, it is very likely that the materials you are looking for are owned by another PINES library and that we can get them for you free of charge. However, if an item you need is not available through the PINES network, we can request it for you from public or academic libraries across the country. This service is called Interlibrary Loan or ILL.

How to request an Interlibrary Loan

Before making an Interlibrary Loan request, please perform a thorough search in the PINES catalog to make sure the item is not available at another PINES network library. If it is, you can place a hold on it yourself using your library barcode number and PIN, and it will be delivered to your home library. You may also want to search online to see if it may be available in full text from a site such as Google Books or Project Gutenberg.

Staff at your local branch library can take your ILL request. The fee for ILLs is $1.00 for each item requested. Most lending libraries do not charge extra fees; however, there may be charges for photocopy or microfilm reel requests. It may take several weeks to receive an item requested through ILL. Please bring as much specific information as you have about what you are looking for, i.e. a complete citation.

  • For books: author, exact title, year of publication, edition, ISBN, etc.
  • For articles: author, exact title of article, magazine or journal title, volume/issue number, and page range.
  • For microfilm: exact title of publication, volume/issue number, reel number.

There are some categories of material that cannot be obtained through Interlibrary Loan, because of their rarity, value, or popularity.

  • Audiobooks, videos, and software.
  • University theses and dissertations.
  • The vast majority of libraries will not lend genealogical materials; however, most will make photocopies of pages or entries if given an exact citation.
  • New popular materials, e.g. books that were published less than 1 year ago, especially best sellers.