[ILL-L] creating an automated ILL system with NO money...

[Merle J. Slyhoff]

We are a small library/ILL operation and I couldn't justify buying ILLIAD.  We could even piggy-back with our main library but I couldn't justify the cost.  We need to track very specific information and find it takes no time for the ILL staff person to merely make tick marks.  We did away with paper by using a spread sheet to record ILL number, patron, date due, returned for books we borrow and another spreadsheet for books borrowed.  It's easy to arrange by date due to see what is due back.  It takes a minimal amount of time and eliminates the need for a paper trail.  We haven't been able to figure out a way to avoid paper for copies to accommodate the required keeping of information.  If anyone has figured out how to do that I"m all ears!

Merle

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Merle J. Slyhoff                                     V: 215-898-9013
Collection Development &                      F: 215-898-6619
Document Delivery Services Librarian     E: mslyhoff at law.upenn.edu
Biddle Law Library
University of Pennsylvania
3460 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3406
From: ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Julia Graham-Whitt
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 4:13 PM
To: ill-l at webjunction.org
Subject: [ILL-L] creating an automated ILL system with NO money...

Greetings ILLers.
I have temporarily been plunged back into the world of libraries, and one of my new tasks at the library here is to get ILL up and running again.  We are a very small junior college library, which is heavily underfunded, understaffed and undervalued (IMO).  As a result, we have absolutely NO money in the budget to do anything "extra" such as pay for shipping other than a few items now and then.  We are not even a supplier on OCLC (something I plan to change very soon), due to the fact that we have, yes, no money.

Surely we are not the ONLY ILL out there that doesn't have the funds to purchase either ILLiad or Clio.  How have others managed to run their ILL without killing lots of trees to track materials?  I would also be interested in joining LVIS, but again, cannot do so until I can do a rough estimate of how much shipping would cost, and then probably apply to the local Foundation for funds to pay for shipping.

Please feel free to reply only to me, as I'm hoping there aren't a TON of libraries out there in this situation.  I'm feeling rather unhopeful about the whole state of things, but perhaps there is something out there that I haven't yet thought of.

Thanks for your help,

Julia (farmer full time, part-time library staff for a bit)
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