Suggest a Purchase vs. Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Free Library of Northampton Township encourages our community of users to suggest items for our collection. We strive to create a collection that is responsive to our community’s unique needs and interests. These guidelines apply to requests submitted to Free Library of Northampton Township. Other Bucks County libraries may have their own criteria.
When to Choose Suggest a Purchase vs. ILL
- Suggest a Purchase when you hope the library will purchase a book published within the last two (2) years, which the library doesn’t already own. This title must have been already been published and released to the public for sale.
- Use Interlibrary Loan to request books older than two (2) years or academic books of any age, which may not be intended for the general public.
How to Suggest a Purchase for Physical Items
The library encourages you to suggest items for our collection.
- Please use this form to request the purchase of items we don’t already own.
- Items must have been published and released to the public.
- To help us process your request quickly, please include as much information as possible.
- You will need a library card in good standing.
- You may suggest NO MORE than two (2) items per month.
- Items suggested from this website must be retrieved at Free Library of Northampton Township.
These guidelines apply to requests submitted to Free Library of Northampton Township.
How to Suggest an eBook or eAudiobook for Purchase
To request an eBook or eAudiobook that is not in our collection, you MAY have two options.
- Please log in to cloudLibrary via the app or browser with your library card number and PIN. Suggestions are limited to 2 per month.
- If you are a library patron with Free Library of Northampton Township as your home library, you also have access to the Libby/OverDrive app and can make suggestions for the purchase of eBooks (only) there as well.
How to Request an Interlibrary Loan
If the item you are looking for is not in our collection and does not fall into our purchase suggestion guidelines you can request an interlibrary loan by completing the form below. Before you submit an interlibrary loan request, check the catalog to make sure your title isn’t already owned or on order.
Please Note:
- Only print material can be requested through ILL.
- ILL items can be checked out for 2 weeks.
- Users can have 5 ILL items checked out at any one time.
- ILL requests are items that we borrow from other libraries across the country and the average time to receive an ILL is 3 to 4 weeks after the request has been submitted.
Please read the Interlibrary Loan Policy before requesting an ILL.
Before you complete the form below to submit a purchase suggestion:
1. Check the catalog to make sure the title is not already owned or on order.
2. Make sure your title has already been published and released to the public.
3. Include only ONE item/title per request. Individual titles/seasons in a series must be requested separately.
