Borrow Direct is an interlibrary loan service that allows member university students, faculty, and staff with library borrowing privileges and active e-mail accounts to borrow books directly from the libraries of the other member universities. The patrons' home library bears the cost of the service and there is no charge to patrons. The service began within and slowly spread to all the members of the Ivy League, and has expanded since 2011 with the inclusion of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to non-Ivy (often so-called "Ivy Plus") institutions.[1]
Patrons may request monographs, microfilm, compact discs, and digital video discs, but no other print materials (such as journals or archives) or non-print media (such as ebooks). The Borrow Direct system will not allow patrons to place requests for items that the library believes to be available for checkout locally. Items requested are normally delivered within four business days after the request is placed, with an initial loan period of six weeks, with one renewal. Items may be recalled by the owning library at any time.[2]