Q. Can I share electronic copies of journal articles received through Interlibrary Loan with other colleagues or students?

Articles and other electronic files obtained through interlibrary loan are intended for the requester alone and may not be shared with other people. Downloading an ILL article for your own personal/academic use is accepted as fair use, but further distribution may violate copyright law.

If the person you want to share the material with is affiliated with WWU, they can request the same item through their own ILL account (sharing the citation information is fine). These requests will then be evaluated according to our regular copyright clearance procedures.

This policy is also articulated in the copyright notice we include on all our online ILL request forms:

COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS: The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs reproductions of copyrighted materials, which allows WWU Libraries to make copies under specific conditions. Copies cannot be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." Users requesting or using materials in excess of "fair use" may be liable for copyright infringement. WWU Libraries reserves the right to refuse a request if it violates of copyright law.

More information about Western Libraries’ copyright policies can be found here.