[ILL-L] RE: Books arriving from lender damaged due to age

[Carmichael, Kathy J.]

I agree. As someone who was previously  responsible for book repair; I
won't let anything go out that is in risk of greater damage. I cringe
whenever I have to send out an oversize book because they are so much
more susceptible to damage.  I won't put them in the courier bags they
go out in boxes.

 

During the academic year we have a student who processes the lending
requests and I wonder whether she sends out a damaged item without
checking first especially if the damage is minor. I suspect than many
academic libraries use students to process lending especially in the
larger libraries who may not consider the condition before it goes out.

 

When I receive books that have significant damage I note that on our
paperwork to protect myself and the patron. If I feel the book is in
danger of further damage I will contact the lender to make sure that
they know the condition of the book. We recently had a book arrive in a
padded envelope that  had been torn open and had tire tracks on it  as
did the book. The book (paperback) was falling apart ; the patron was
desperate for the book and since it was the only copy I could find. I
contacted the library first to get permission to check it out .

 

Kathy Karn-Carmichael

Senior Library Assistant

Interlibrary Loan

David L. Rice Library

University of Southern Indiana

812-465-1683

From: ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Beth Willis
Sent: Friday, July 06, 2007 10:42 AM
To: Interlibrary Loan Listserv
Subject: Books arriving from lender damaged due to age

 

Lately I've been seeing a lot of books come through here from lenders
that are really not fit to circulate; e.g. the text block is entirely
pulled away from the spine.

 

Is there a protocol for this? Do you repair such items before
circulating to your patron? Do you let them go out as is? (There is no
way the lender wasn't aware of the condition of the material before
sending it. Or, do you return them to the lender and submit a new
request for the patron?

 

My *real* question is: Why do libraries let stuff go out in this
condition? :-?

 

 

 

Beth Willis

ILL Department Head

bwillis at mcpl.lib.mo.us

Phone: (816) 521-7231

Mid-Continent Public Library - http://www.mcpl.lib.mo.us

Unless explicitly attributed, the opinions expressed are personal.

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