Welcome to RACER, our Interlibrary Loan (ILL) system, which brings a wealth of scholarship to your research doorstep!

Under the terms of the ACCESS COPYRIGHT and the COPYRIGHT ACT R.S.C. c. C-42 as amended, Interlibrary Loans cannot order copies of more than 10% of a published work, 5% if it is to be e-delivered, or one journal article per issue.

RACER tracks borrowing patterns-if there are more than 5 requests for the same article within a 3 month period, Laurentian University will attempt to purchase a copy from the source.

To receive any article you must agree that the document is to be used solely for the purposes of research, private study, review or criticism. You are required to print a copy of the article and destroy the electronic version. The electronic version may not be stored, forwarded or distributed. Failure to abide by this policy may result in your rights to use the electronic delivery program (EDP) being suspended or revoked and you may be subject to liability for copyright infringement.

Be sure to check the catalogue, and Google to make sure the desired material is not available in our own collection or online. Books on loan from the J.N. Desmarais Library, the Huntington University Library, the University of Sudbury Library, or at the Northern Ontario Health Information Network (Nohin) - Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) collections are considered available, and cannot be ordered through RACER. Place a hold to reserve the copy. For information on how to place a hold, click here.

Once you have determined the material is not available, login to RACER and submit a request.

If you have the complete bibliographic record for a desired item, simply login into RACER and fill out a Blank Request Form.

In order to obtain your document, your responsibility is to provide the following *required fields:

• a book has 3 required fields: title, author, publication date
• an article has 7: journal title, article author, article title, pagination, volume, issue/number, publication date

Interlibrary loan staff will do the rest and will find possible lending locations on your behalf.

While searching certain library databases, requests can be submitted using the database feature  to auto-populate a request form. Auto-populated forms often lack information, therefore you must ensure all *required fields are filled out correctly or your request may be cancelled.

• Articles: You are required to print a copy of the article and destroy the electronic version. You may retain 1 print copy.

• Books / Microforms: The loan period is 3 weeks with no renewals.

Generally, there are no charges for books or articles. However, charges apply to the following:

• Items from Canadian institutions: library will cover $12; patron any extra
• Items from outside of Canada: library will cover $30; patron any extra

Patrons will be notified before their request is processed if these charges apply, so that they can accept the charges or cancel their request.  Please pay upon receipt of material.

For more information, please contact: Mr. Ashley Thomson, Interlibrary Loan Coordinator, extension 3322.

Login to RACER, and click 'My Requests'. A list of all of your requests will appear. Please note the “Status” of your request.

If you would like to inquire about a specific request, email racer@laurentian.ca and provide the ILL Number.

If an item is no longer listed, check your email for notification about your request.

The Status of a request defines its current position in the request lifecycle.

Cancel Pending - We are in the process of canceling your request.

Checked In - The lending library has the item back in their possession.

Conditional - A lending library has indicated they will supply your item as soon as some condition is met

Idle - We will process your request shortly

New - A recently submitted request.

Not Supplied - Local library staff are searching other libraries for your item and may contact you if needed.

Pending – Your request has been sent to a lending library but have not yet been shipped or rejected.

Recalled – Requests on loan to your library which have been recalled by the lending library - these should be returned as soon as possible.

Received – Your item has arrived at the J.N. Desmarais Library and will be available shortly. Check your email for further details.

Returned – Requests which are being sent back to the lending library.

Shipped – The lending library has sent a notification that the item has been shipped.

Any library material that is not available to you electronically, can be ordered through RACER, whether the material is located in Laurentian's own collections - or elsewhere.

Check the catalogue to make sure the desired material is not available online as either an e-book or electronic journal article. For information on how to access our online resources, click here.

In addition to searching our catalogue, WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding books on a topic.

When searching for articles on a specific topic, please consult your subject databases.

When borrowing books from Laurentian's collections, you will have them for a period of 3 weeks. The due date will be stamped on the bookband wrapped around the cover of the book, and this date allows one week for shipping. Please ensure that the material is back at Laurentian by the due date which means you must ship the material at least one week before it is due. It is important to make note of the due date as overdue fines are applicable at $0.50 per day. A book, if not requested by another borrower, can be renewed up to 3 times. For information on how to renew, click here.

When borrowing materials outside of Laurentian's collections, the loan period is 3 weeks with no renewals and no re-orders. Borrowers will be charged $1 per day for any material which is overdue.

No more than 30 books may be borrowed at any one time.

This information is for libraries or institutions that borrow directly from the Laurentian University J.N. Desmarais Library. Individuals should contact their local library to request materials from other libraries.

For instructions and online Interlibrary Loan request forms for libraries without an ILL management system, please visit this link. 

In order to use this form you must have either a Library and Archives Canada symbol or a locally created symbol in our VDX system.  For the Symbols and Interlibrary Loan Policies in Canada directory, please visit this link.  For Laurentian University J.N. Desmarais Library symbol and policies, please visit this link.

If you need further assistance, please contact racer.support@utoronto.ca.

For general inquiries, please email racer@laurentian.ca.

If you would like to talk to someone personally about RACER, please visit Dorothy Robb at either the Library Information Desk or in the Interlibrary Loan Office.

For more information, please contact Mr. Ashley Thomson, Interlibrary Loan Coordinator, at extension 3322.