[ILL-L] Damaged/Lost Materials in US Mail

[FFenske at cob.org]

I have received packages in the mail whose damage was clearly caused by the
USPS. The most recent package was soaked in motor oil, and ripped. The oil
had managed to get past the bubble wrap and soak the book. I knew before I
went to the post office to complain what their answer would be. Sure
enough, they replied that if the pkg was not insured, I had no recourse. No
apologies were made. Libraries are caught between a rock (no money to pay
for insuring every pkg) and a hard place (USPS). The ultimate question to
be asked is, not how many pkgs arrive damaged, but can libraries, en mass,
affect a change so that the USPS is held accountable for damage caused by
them, whether the item is insured or not. Otherwise, libraries that are not
on courier routes, are at the mercy of the USPS, unless we have a ton of
money to spend on insuring everything, or send by UPS.


Fay Fenske
Interlibrary Loans
Bellingham Public Library
210 Central Ave
CS-9710
Bellingham WA  98227-9710
360-778-7207
360-778-7294 FAX



                                                                           
             "Nelson, Elaine                                               
             S."                                                           
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             Please respond to         [ILL-L] Damaged/Lost Materials in   
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Recently it seems we have noticed an increased amount of items sent in the
US mail that are either damaged in shipping or the packages have been torn
open and the material is lost.  Have other institutions noticed an increase
regarding this issue?  Currently we only insure a portion of our packages
so we are paying for the lost/damaged materials in accordance with the ALA
Interlibrary Loan Code.  I am just curious, are others experiencing this?

Elaine S. Nelson
University Libraries ... A destination for research, learning and friends
Interlibrary Loan Supervisor        765-285-8018 Office
Ball State University                  765-285-5351 FAX
Muncie, IN 47306                      enelson at bsu.edu
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