[ILL-L] The Case of the Missing Books

Tue Apr 7 09:07:16 EDT 2009

I wanted to offer the information I received the last time I spoke with
someone helpful at the post office about missing/lost/damaged item forms
(the ones that come with the mailing label of your package and nothing
else).

Whenever these forms come, I dutifully complete them, noting the library
identifying information (ours or the lender's), including a printout of
the Amazon page for the book if there's a picture, generally giving them
more information than one would think is necessary.

Then I wait.  And I wait.  

Last time I called, the woman on the phone told me that I had waited
"too long."  If she was accurately reporting, they only hold missing
items for 3 months, which means that you should be sure not to wait too
long before starting telephone follow-up.  I wanted to share that time
frame because I know that 3 months passes really quickly when we send
things library rate across the country.  By the time you get the form,
complete it, and have begun waiting, it may be 2 months that the item
has been sitting in the warehouse.  

Most of the time, in interlibrary loan land, it seems that missing items
eventually turn up, if we wait long enough.  But waiting too patiently,
too long, may not be helpful when dealing with the post office.

Meg Butler
Reference Librarian
New York Law School
212-431-2148

-----Original Message-----
From: ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Bierma, Lynn
Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 5:32 PM
To: Interlibrary Loan Listserv
Subject: RE: [ILL-L] The Case of the Missing Books

I have a folder of missing books over a period of a few years.  We too
have sudden increases, & then if falls off.  We've had notices from USPS
indicating they've found our label, but nothing else, and other times,
nothing at all.  Unfortunately we can't afford 1st class or
tracking...most of our items go out library rate.  I've worked with all
the people possibly involved in packaging in our shipping room, and
tried to make sure we're packaging correctly.  Our "lost" materials have
fallen off, so hopefully we're doing everything right on our end.

However, in the past, even when I knew the packaging was done correctly,
we received torn packages with just a mailing label.

If you fill out a U.S. Postal Parcel Search Request, good luck in
getting anyone to return the form indicating they've searched for it.
I've also found out that in our area, the mail recovery center is in St.
Paul.  I've been told by USPS that if there's an identifying mark
they'll mail it back (& if we have a web site it helps them find an
address...I think its funny that they need a web site to helpd them find
the address)...we have barcodes, stamps, etc....it's hard to know how
they could miss the identifying marks, and we do have a presence on the
web.  Unfortunately it hasn't ever helped.  After a lot a phone calling
(even to the main USPS headquarters) I was told that the mail recovercy
center in St. Paul doesn't even have a phone number, and no one knew how
to contact anyone there!  I personally think its just a warehouse that's
not staffed.

I've even gone so far as to send sample mailings (with actual pieces in
them) to the Mailpiece Design Analyst assigned to our disrict.  She
looked at the items, and the packaging, and told us we were packaging
correctly.  No luck either with the consumer affairs associate for the
Midwest.

Lynn Bierma
Interlibrary Loan Operations Coordinator Illinois State Library 300
South 2nd Street Springfield, IL 62701
PHONE: 217-558-1928
FAX: 217-782-4446
EMAIL: lbierma at ilsos.net
INTERLIBRARY LOAN DEPT. EMAIL: islinter-libraryloan at ilsos.net

Jesse White, Secretary of State and State Librarian Please consider the
environment before printing this email.

-----Original Message-----
From: ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org]On Behalf Of Robinson, Arthur
Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 3:44 PM
To: Interlibrary Loan Listserv
Subject: [ILL-L] The Case of the Missing Books

Has anyone else experienced an increase in books requested from other
libraries and supposedly shipped but "Not Received"?

We're a small library, and this usually happens to us only two or three
times a year; in fact in 2008 it only happened once.  But it's happened
to us four times already this year, even though our ILL borrowing is
down about 30% from last year.

I've been formulating various paranoid theories (decline in USPS
service? Something to do with the economy? Books abducted by aliens on
the grassy knoll?).

It might have been worse.  We have also had an increase this year in
cases where packages arrived ripped with books spilling out but still
present (including one case where a large, fat book was shipped in a
manila envelope).

Arthur Robinson (GLG)

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