Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a reciprocal service among libraries in North America, and it is at the discretion of the owning library whether to lend the item.  Patrons are responsible for the cost of any damage or lost ILL items per the lending library’s policy.

Request Process, Borrowing Limits, and Exclusions

Please have your Thousand Oaks Library card handy when you submit a request.  Be sure your card is active and in good standing with no outstanding fees.  To resolve any outstanding issues, please contact Reference services at the Grant R. Brimhall Library, 805-449-2660 option 4, or the Newbury Park Branch Library, 805-498-2139.

What items are available through ILL?

Interlibrary Loan requests are limited to books or scanned pages or images of magazine/journal articles or microfilm. Libraries generally do not lend audiovisual, popular materials or unique items through Interlibrary Loan. eBooks are not eligible for ILL.  

Most libraries do not lend items that are published within the last two years.  Please suggest a purchase if the item was published within the last six months; to request an item published fewer than two years ago, please use our Zip Books Service.

An excellent resource for borrowing ebooks online is the Internet Archive. There are now over 4 million books available digitally for free through the Internet Archive. Visit this link to learn more information  https://help.archive.org/help/borrowing-from-the-lending-library/  

How do I submit an ILL Request?

You may submit a request in one of the three ways below:

1. in person at either the Grant R. Brimhall Library or the Newbury Park Library
2. by telephone at 805-449-2660, option 4.
3. online using the Ask-A-Librarian service.

A patron may have up to three (3) requests at any time (including currently checked-out ILL items and pending requests).

What information do I need when submitting an ILL Request?

It would be most helpful to have the title, author, publisher, and the ISBN of the book when you place an ILL request for a book. 

The journal title, article title, volume number, and the year of publication are required for article requests. 

We understand that providing this information is not always possible, but our librarians are happy to assist with finding the details.   

Please also include: 

• Date before which you need the book or copies, if you have a deadline.
• Location where you would like to pickup the book (TO or NP Library)
• Are you willing to accept items which have delivery fees, and if so, what is the cap you would place on such a fee? Thousand Oaks Library does not charge for Interlibrary Loan requests.  However, some lenders may charge a lending fee or a copy fee, which would be passed on to the patron.  If a lending library charges a fee, the patron will be notified, unless the fee is under the amount you have authorized.  

How will I know when my item arrives?

Items may take four to six weeks to arrive.  You may monitor the progress in My Account in the Library catalog.  You will be notified either by email or phone if the request is not fillable or when the item is ready for pickup based on the notice preference setting in your library account.

What should I do if I have lost or damaged an ILL Item?

If an Interlibrary Loan item is lost or damaged, please contact ILLDEPT@tolibrary.org or 805-381- 7344 immediately.  We will contact the lending library and they will determine the overdue fines and replacement cost of any lost or damaged ILL materials.  Patrons are responsible for replacement or overdue fees charged by the lending library.  ILL fees and fines cannot be waived and are not a part of the Thousand Oaks Library “fine free” program.

How do I return ILL items?

All ILL items must be returned in person to a staff member at the Grant R. Brimhall Library’s Circulation Desk, or at the Newbury Park Branch Library’s Circulation Desk.  Do not place items in the book drop.  Lost or damaged items are the responsibility of the patron.

How do I renew ILL items?

ILL items are not renewable. Loan periods are set by the lending libraries.  Since these materials are the property of another library, materials must be returned on time. Thousand Oaks Library will request the maximum checkout length from the lending library when submitting your request for your convenience.

Submission of an ILL request by a patron will constitute his or her agreement to comply with the above policy, as well as an agreement to pay any fees incurred as a result of the ILL request.