[ILL-L] ILL for format preference?

[Mary Lehane]

Hello Nora, (nice meeting you at the Boston Resource Sharing meeting in 
August)
We do the same as you do and have a sentence on our web site, under the 
part about not borrowing books we hold in our library:
> If the format (microform, digital, etc.) is problematic, please 
> contact our office and we will determine on a case-by-case basis if we 
> can obtain an alternate format.
Since the days of microfilm, there have always been users who cannot use 
a certain format for usually legitimate reasons.
We have tried to accommodate ILL requests when possible. Sometimes, the 
time it might take to obtain a print version is a deterrent.

But you are right, the time is coming when more and more e-books will 
make ILL that much more complicated. What is looming here is the 
consortial purchase of e-books, meaning that in our (your) own 
particular consortium, everyone will have the e-book and ILL types will 
have to decide how far to go beyond their partners in attempting to 
borrow a print copy...geography being only one consideration. The cost 
of borrowing from far-flung, non-reciprocal sites will have to be 
factored in to your decision.
At the moment, we can still handle the occasional request for a print 
version. My staff weigh the availability of any requests; we try not to 
borrow something from the USA or overseas when all our Canadian 
locations have the e-version. Most students and faculty are reasonable 
about this. It is very much a case by case decision.

Hopefully, the development of improved platforms and e-book readers will 
help make the transition easier for our users, and less of a problem for 
ILL in the future.

Mary Lehane



Nora Allred wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> In the past we have requested print copies of books that we have access to in electronic format as a courtesy to our patrons who prefer the print copy.  This has happened infrequently.  But as our subscriptions to e-books grow I can see an increase in such requests.  
>
> Do any of you request material you already own based on format preference?  Do you have a stated policy for or against such a practice?  
>
> TIA for your comments/thoughts.
>
> Nora
>
> ------
> Nora Allred
> Head of Access Services
> J. R. Van Pelt & Opie Library
> Michigan Technological University
> 1400 Townsend Drive
> Houghton, MI 49931
> 906/487-3208
> nsallred at mtu.edu
>
>
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> ILL-L at webjunction.org
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>
>   

-- 

Mary Lehane

Manager, Resource Sharing Department

207 Scott Library, York University

4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3

 

Phone: (416) 736-5808 Fax: (416)736-5920

Ariel: 130.63.180.22 E-mail: mlehane at yorku.ca <mailto:mlehane at yorku.ca>

 

http://www.library.yorku.ca/ccm/ResourceSharing/ServicesForYork/index.htm

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