WHAT IS THE NRLF?

The Northern Regional Library Facility (NRLF) is a cooperative library storage facility, owned and operated by the University of California and located on the grounds of UC Berkeley's Richmond Field Station. It offers high density, low cost, environmentally controlled housing for infrequently used library materials belonging to Northern California libraries. Principal NRLF depositors are the libraries on the University's Berkeley, Davis, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz campuses.

WHAT IS UCSC STORING AT THE NRLF?

In 1984, Santa Cruz began storing about 10,000 volumes a year at the NRLF. The library's collection planning staff has selected infrequently consulted UCSC library materials for storage, using criteria reviewed and approved by the UCSC Academic Senate Library Committee, and in consultation with the appropriate faculty members. Collection planners welcome comments and suggestions concerning the library's storage policies. Their names and office and telephone numbers are listed for your convenience in the Collection Planning Note, or you may call the Head of Collection Planning at 459-4425 for more information.

HOW DO YOU DISCOVER MATERIALS STORED AT THE NRLF?

Many UCSC materials stored at the NRLF are serial titles; the UCSC Serials List includes these titles and indicates their location. You will also see "NRLF" used as a location designation in the MELVYL®and CruzCat online catalogs. The Circulation staff may also inform you that a volume is not on the shelf because it is stored at the NRLF.

HOW DO YOU REQUEST RETRIEVAL OF NRLF MATERIALS?

The library's Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Service is responsible for retrieval of materials stored at the NRLF. Users initiate requests by filling out on-line forms. Non-UCSC deposits may only be retrieved for UCSC faculty, students, and staff. Materials will be delivered to UCSC within two working days of the request's receipt at NRLF. The loan period for UCSC-owned NRLF materials is one year with an option for renewal. Non-UCSC-owned NRLF items generally circulate for three months and may also be renewed. Additionally, articles can be photocopied or scanned and web-delivered from journals stored at NRLF.  UCSC deposits can be paged for non-UCSC community members, including Friends of the Library and Alumni cardholders.  Friends may use the on-line form to request UCSC-NRLF materials, community users will need to speak with a Reference Librarian to fill out a request card. Bound journals will be paged for non-UCSC patrons so that they may copy any needed articles.

USING MATERIALS AT THE NRLF

If you have a UCSC library card, you may visit the NRLF and page and borrow deposited materials, except for materials from Special Collections; arrangements to use these items must be made with the Special Collections department of the depositing campus. UC faculty, graduate students, and librarians are also allowed access to the NRLF stacks. Persons wishing to pick up or use material at NRLF are encouraged to telephone NRLF in advance with their requests.