[ILL-L] What's with genealogy, anyway??

[Campbell, Heather]

My question to you is: Are you sending these as photocopy or loan
requests?  If you send the request as a photocopy request, sometimes the
lending library will send the book anyway.  I know my staff tells our
genealogy customers to place requests as photocopy requests.

If you send them as loan requests, the lending libraries may not be
seeing the notes when they're processing the request.  It may be because
of their ILL management system.  I know with the system we used when I
came back to ILL in 2003, you would have to look at each request that
was displayed in 4 pt print in a small window.  Usually, notes like: "If
you can't loan the book, could you copy the pages on " Firefly, Rufus
Terwilliger" went unnoticed. We're getting better at this but if - as a
lender- you're going through a large amount of requests and have a short
timeframe to do it in, you're going to miss something now and then.
I've instructed my staff to Conditional requests for Non-Circulating
books.  This Conditional comes with an offer to copy specific
information.  Something more specific than-say-" Give me everything you
have on John Smith" in a book called "The complete guide to the Smith
Family".

As to your question: Why do libraries auto deflect genealogy?  We
haven't found a way to do it and wouldn't if we did.  ILL is a quid pro
quo operation.  We have to be willing to help out customers of other
libraries if we want help for our customers.

As  to your  question about listing lending policies in the Policies
Directory: not everyone updates their policy directory information in a
timely manner.  If you call, make sure you get through to someone in
ILL. We're going around and around with a customer right now.  There is
ONE library that would loan (for a price) the book he wants.  Their
policy says they only loan books from their Main library.  This book is
held at a couple of branches.  Our customer has called the reference
desk at the library and they are- understandably unaware of their
library's lending policy.  That doesn't stop them from telling our
customer that they will lend the book. But their ILL staff says no
nevertheless.  

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


-----Original Message-----
From: ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Richard Samford
Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2008 12:10 PM
To: ILL Mail list
Subject: [ILL-L] What's with genealogy, anyway??


    Ok,  I'd REALLY like to have a definitive answer from "those in the
no".

    I've tried to fill a number of genealogy requests lately.  I know
these items are generally non circulating.  I'm not trying to borrow
these item, I'm asking for photocopies.  In fact, I usually add
[Requesting Photocopies] after the title, and state what I need copied
in the Borrowing Notes.

    Many, many libraries update the requests to "No-Non Circulating".   
I'm asking plainly for photocopies.

    Several of these are being auto deflected. Why do libraries auto
deflect genealogy?  I'm pretty sure those who have and those who need
know how things work.  Is there another way, not listed in their
policies, that they prefer to take in requests??  If genealogy is listed
as non-circulating in the Policies Directory, shouldn't there also be
some way of letting us know that photocopying is off of the table as
well??  Do I pick up the phone??

    This is very frustrating, and impossible to explain to my patrons. 
Can someone pu-lease tell me why this is such a standard way of replying
to genealogy requests?

-- 
Richard Samford            | samford at pittstate.edu 
Interlibrary Loan          | voice:  (620)235-4890 
Leonard H. Axe Library     | fax:   620/235-4090 
Pittsburg State University | http://library.pittstate.edu/ 
Pittsburg, KS   66762-5889 | OCLC:  KFP



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