Eligible Users

The Federal Highway Administration ( FHWA) Research Library accepts interlibrary borrowing requests from other libraries worldwide.

The library does NOT loan directly to individuals, which includes transportation professionals in State or local governments, universities, and contractors/consultants, etc. Individuals should request materials through their local library. A local library could be a public, academic, corporate, or government agency library.

Request Methods

The library prefers that requests be submitted through OCLC WorldShare (OCLC symbol: FHATR) but also accepts requests via email, fax, and telephone.

Materials Available for Loan

The library will lend most circulating materials in the library collection.

Materials Not Available for Loan

Materials not available for loan include file copies of FHWA reports, restricted publications (e.g. unpublished drafts),  periodicals, historical materials, Professional Engineer (PE) exam materials near exam time, and materials acquired within the last year. The library reserves the right to deny requests based on other factors such as rarity and condition of materials.

Circulation Period

The loan period is 45 days, with the possibility of a 30-day renewal. Items may be recalled if requested by an FHWA employee.

Charges

As a Federal library, the FHWA Research Library does not charge borrowers. However, the library reserves the right to deny requests from non-reciprocal libraries and document delivery vendors.

Shipping Policy

Materials are generally shipped First Class. Libraries may request that items be shipped via FedEx. Borrowing libraries should return items via a traceable method.

Responsibility for Borrowed Materials

As stated in section 4.9 of the Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States, “The requesting library is responsible for borrowed material from the time it leaves the supplying library until it has been returned to and received by the supplying library.”  Therefore, the borrowing library assumes responsibility for replacement or charges for lost or damaged materials and may wish to insure return.