The Document Delivery Service supports current ESR and Bethany students and faculty who live at a significant distance from campus. The service provides home delivery of physical books from Earlham's circulating collection, electronic delivery of print-owned journal articles from Earlham's periodical holdings, and videos, DVDs, CDs, and other media items to patrons who live at least 50 miles from campus, but within the continental U.S.

How do I submit my request?

1. Go to My Library Account. Log in with your Earlham username (without the @earlham.edu) and your regular password.
2. Go to Requests, then Create Request. For items that will be shipped to you, choose the "Book Request" or "Media Request" form. For electronic delivery of print-owned articles or chapters, choose "Article/Book Chapter Request."
3. Fill out all required fields. For Book Requests, include an ISBN.
4. Under "About my request," for items that will be shipped, choose Service Type: "Loan." For electronic delivery of articles or chapters, choose "Copy."
5. Under "Pickup Location" choose "Document Delivery."
6. For items that will be shipped, under "Mailing Address" confirm that the address listed is the correct one we should use to ship item to you. If not, add a note in the "Comments" field with corrections.
7. Click Submit Request.

What can be requested through Document Delivery?

Circulating library books, scanned copies of Earlham-owned print journal articles, and videos, DVDs, CDs, or other media items may be requested through Document Delivery. We also scan portions of non-circulating books, including reference materials, from the Earlham print collection. Copies of articles from journals owned by other libraries may be requested via Interlibrary Loan. 

The following may not be requested through Document Delivery:

• Non-circulating books
• Texts required for a current course
• Items on reserve
• Books of which Earlham also has an electronic copy (will appear in catalog)
• Books belonging to other libraries
• Print journals from the library collection 
• Items too fragile, awkward, or large to ship safely

***Please note that all copy requests are subject to U.S. copyright law. In the case of making copies from a book, this means that the Libraries will copy no more than 10% or one chapter, (whichever is greater), of any one book under copyright.

What are the borrowing policies and loan periods?

The loan period for most books is 60 days for seminary students and 120 days for faculty. The loan period for new books, videos, DVDs, CDs, and other media items is 14 days. Renewals may be requested unless another patron has requested the item. (Note: Renewals are NOT possible for DVDs.) The loan period will start on the day the item is shipped, and the items are to be received by the library on or before the due date. All regular library policies regarding fines, lost book fees, renewal limits, etc. apply to Document Delivery books. Renew books by signing into your account in the online catalog.

How will the item be shipped?

The patron is responsible for providing the library with a valid shipping address. If items are lost in shipping due to a faulty address on the part of the patron, the patron is responsible for replacement costs of the item.  

Document Delivery materials are shipped by Priority Mail. Please allow 3-5 business days for delivery. You will receive an email from the Earlham Libraries when items have shipped to you.

The library will pay for shipment of items to the patron. The patron is responsible for returning the items to the library, including shipping costs.

Please return items to:

Lilly Library-Document Delivery
Earlham College
801 National Road West
Richmond, IN 47374