[ILL-L] ILL Code - advice needed

[Megan Bayonet]

We're an academic library and our typical loan period is 60 days and our
books go to Lost when they are 30 days Overdue.  We do not request items
that are Checked Out, Overdue, In Processing, In Cataloging or In Repair.
For the administrative unavailabilities, we'll simply expedite that item.
For items that are Checked Out, we issue a recall notice, which gives the
current borrower 1 week or until they've had the item a total of 3 weeks to
return the item, whichever is longer.  I WILL request items that we only
have as EBooks or that have gone to Lost status.  We also do not request
textbooks or other required reading for classes (yes, I have a stack of
syllabi on my desk to cross-reference).
 
Occasionally we do get a patron who wants us to ILL something that we
already own "because I need it right away".  We've found that more often
than not what this translates into is "because I left whatever I'm working
on until the last possible minute."  In these cases we simply restate our
policy and let them know that they may be able to find a copy at the public
library or another one of the local academic libraries.  We have a
reciprocal agreement with our public library so that their patrons can check
out books here and ours can check out books there.  So far, these policies
have been sufficient.
 
In conversations with some of our nearby public libraries, we've discovered
that they now charge a small fee per ILL transaction - just enough to make
someone think twice before placing a request.  They've found that this
discourages a lot of the requests for material that is checked out.
 
Megan Bayonet
Interlibrary Loan Coordinator
mbayonet at mbc.edu
540-887-7317
 

  _____  

From: ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org]
On Behalf Of Linda Wilkinson
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 3:20 PM
To: 'Interlibrary Loan Listserv'
Subject: [ILL-L] ILL Code - advice needed



 

 

I'm having a lot of discussions and controversy with my branch librarians
about when it is appropriate to request material via ILL that we already
own.  Our policy is currently to request material if our own copies are "on
order" or "in processing", are "lost", or are "checked out" but overdue by
at least a week; in other words, if we can't be sure when the material will
be available, we will request from somewhere else.  But, if our own copies
are checked out but *not* overdue, our patrons are encouraged to wait for
the item to return, and a hold is placed if our owning branch is willing to
lend it upon its return.  Exceptions are made, of course, for urgently
needed material (such as for academic use, though that's rare since we're a
public library).

 

More and more, patrons are insisting on requesting material on ILL that is
just checked-out, but not yet overdue.  I've told everyone that there's no
guarantee that an ILL would be found and delivered before our own item
returns, but I'm still facing a lot of opposition.  I hate to put other
libraries' materials at risk in the mail system when we own the item
(sometimes multiple copies even!).

 

I searched the ILL Code and Explanatory Supplement for guidance, and found
the following:

 

>From the ILL Code:

2.1 The purpose of interlibrary loan as defined by this code is to obtain,
upon request of a library user, material not available in the user's local
library.

 

>From the Explanatory Supplement:
2. Purpose:  Interlibrary loan is intended to complement local collections
and is not a substitute for good library collections intended to meet the
routine needs of users.

5.9 Recall: Increasingly, some libraries are finding it more effective to
request the material on ILL for a local user rather than recall material in
use by another library.

 

 

How do your libraries define "not available" as used in 2.1 above?  Do you
just go ahead and request items you already own, or are there criteria and
limitations on what can be borrowed on ILL?

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Linda Wilkinson, ILL Coordinator
Southeastern Public Library System of OK
OCLC symbol: OKI

 <mailto:wilkinson at sepl.lib.ok.us> wilkinson at sepl.lib.ok.us 

 

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