Nelson Mandela and Interlibrary Loan

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the release of activist Nelson Mandela from prison in South Africa. Mandela had been jailed for decades for speaking out against Apartheid. Apartheid was the political system by which a white minority dominated and segregated the other races of the country of South Africa. Mandela's release, along with the legal restoration of his African National Congress party, began a swift process which saw the dismantling of Apartheid and the eventual election of Mandela in the country's first elections open to people of all races.

This anniversary proved to be a bit ironic as I am currently reading a book about Mandela and the fall of Apartheid. The book is entitled Playing the Enemy and was written by John Carlin. The book was recently adapted into a film version entitled Invictus.

However, you will notice by looking through the Chattahoochee Technical College Library catalog that the book isn't part of our collection. So how then, did I get the book? It was through a process called Interlibrary Loan. This is a service that the college library provides to you. We are able to get books not in our collection by borrowing them from other participating libraries all around the United States. Go to Worldcat and type in a book title to see what libraries near your present location own the book.

There are exceptions to Interlibrary Loan. Please read the rules regarding Interlibrary Loan on the library's section of the Chattahoochee Technical College website. The biggest exception students need to be aware of is that the library will not request textbooks for students through Interlibrary Loan.

JWF