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

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The only other thing I've heard is that libraries don't like it when
other libraries try to repair their books, Ed.
 
ILL Office
Iona College VXI
914-633-2352
 

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From: ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Campbell, Heather
Sent: Friday, July 06, 2007 12:27 PM
To: Interlibrary Loan Listserv
Subject: [ILL-L] RE: Books arriving from lender damaged due to age



If we receive a book in bad condition, we let the lender know right
away.  The last book we received in bad condition was neither the
lenders or (directly) our fault.  Something gouged into the package and
into the book and we received the wounded book- which was not in
readable condition.

 

As a Lender, we try not to send out items in bad condition.  In theory,
these books shouldn't be on the shelf for our own customers.  We use the
resources of our Main Library and the 20 branches to fill Interlibrary
Loan requests and the rule of thumb is- If you wouldn't check the book
out to one of our own customers in its condition, do NOT send it to us
to fill an ILL Lending request.  Our units strive to fill everything we
send them and sometimes-in their eagerness- we get books that only
inhabit their bindings out of habit or books that are disintegrating
before our eyes. If we have the time to repair them, we do. There is a
particular instance that we would send a book along that should be
withdrawn and that's in the case of urban fiction.  We get a lot of
requests for this genre from all over the country and if the book is the
only copy we have to lend and it's still holding together OK, we'll lend
it.  There's a way we can note its iffy condition in our database and we
do.

 

Lending urban fiction poses an interesting dilemma for us.  We've lent
brand or like new books (we know this because we have a tiny in-house
only collection of widely popular paperbacks kept in our area and these
were OUR books) to libraries only to have them kept for months on end
and sent back looking to with scotch tape holding the covers on and
looking like they've circulated a bagazillion times.  When we bill these
libraries for the books and finally get the books back, THEN we hear-
"But it was like that when we received it".  

 

Heather Campbell
Special Services ~ Interlibrary Loan and Books By Mail
Jacksonville Public Library
Jacksonville, Florida 32202
ill at coj.net    904-630-2985 

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From: ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Beth Willis
Sent: Friday, July 06, 2007 11:42 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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