University Library
Central Circulation and Bookstacks Department

OBTAINING MATERIALS FROM THE DELAYED ACCESS COLLECTION

What is the delayed access collection?

The delayed access collection in the Main Library Bookstacks is a small portion of the main collection that is not directly accessible to Library borrowers. The types of materials kept in this collection include items, which experience unfortunately has shown, are at high risk for theft or mutilation as well as material which is only partially cataloged. All patrons, whether they have Bookstacks access or not, can request material in these collections. Requests can be made either in person at the Main Circulation Desk for immediate retrieval, or by the usual Illinet Online request procedures.

How are these materials identified in the online catalog?

These materials can be identified by the location "UIUC Main Stacks Closed Area" in the online catalog.

What types of materials are shelved in the delayed access collection?

Items for which the Library has experienced a higher than average incidence of theft, mutilation, or deliberate misplacement by patrons are shelved in this collection. Like the Library's Rare Book Room, the delayed access collection is intended to give items at high-risk for theft and mutilation an added degree of protection to insure their availability to library users. However, unlike the Rare Book Room, items in the delayed access collection do circulate and are also available for Interlibrary Lending. The benefits of this special protection are a reduction in the Library's expenditures to replace frequently stolen or damaged materials and the enhanced availability of high-risk items for users who need access to them.

Items are shelved in this collection after careful consideration and experience has determined that they are at particularly high risk for theft and/or mutilation. Examples of items shelved in this area include copies of the works of authors such as Aleister Crowley, the Marquis de Sade, Adolph Hitler, and A. N. Roquelaure. Famous "salacious" novels such as Cleland's Fanny Hill, some books with sexually explicit illustrations and/or texts, books containing photographs of weapons and military uniforms, and some books about the occult have all been found to disappear frequently from the open shelves and so are given special protection to assure availability. Second or third copies of many of the items in the delayed access collection can be found on the open shelves in the Bookstacks or in departmental libraries. There is never a blanket approach to any subject area that requires that books on that subject be shelved in the delayed access collection. The collection is small (less than 500 items) and is weeded periodically so that items that are no longer at high risk for theft or mutilation are returned to the open shelves.

The Library encourages the borrowing of materials from this collection and does all it can to insure their availability as well as the confidentiality of borrowers who use these materials.

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Last updated 08.25.00