[ILL-L] contemplating a change: no due date on WRS

[Potapoff,Jason]

I probably shouldn't reply to this but...

If a lending library sends me a book without a due date indicated what I do is just come up with my own arbitrary due date (usually 3 weeks). Then if the patron needs longer I contemplate just giving them longer instead of contacting the library for renewal.  The way I see it, if the lending library doesn't give me a due date then they are telling me that I can have the book as long as I want.   In this case I don't think it is incumbent on me to hunt down the library's standard lending length in their policy.  

If a library lists a due date, everything is great. I note the due date, mark my patron's due date a week earlier than the given date (to give me a week to get the book mailed back to its home library) and so on.   No due date given, then I get to decide the due date and I will probably be less concerned that the book arrives at its home library in a timely fashion. 

Jason Potapoff 
Interlibrary Loans Technician - NAIT Libraries 
P 471.8780  

________________________________________
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:57:46 -0400
From: "Robinson, Arthur " <arobinson at lagrange.edu>
Subject: Re: [ILL-L] contemplating a change: no due date on WRS
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To: "Interlibrary Loan Listserv" <ill-l at webjunction.org>
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Every time a library lends us a book with a due date of "N/A" (I think it's usually a slip on their part), it means extra work for me.

(1)  I have to contact them to determine the due date if it isn't on the paperwork.  (Also, sometimes the contact information is hard to find--if it isn't in constant data or the OCLC policies directory, it can take a while to find.  Even if there's a strret address and phone number, I usually look for an e-mail address--long distance calls are costly.)

(2) As others have mentioned, our patrons usually want to renew books.  If there's a due date, it takes a few seconds.  If the due date is N/A, it's a hassle.

(3) If I record an "N/A" book as "received," the record vanishes.  This wastes more time, and can create major problems.  Last summer, when I was on my week's vacation, a book came in with a due date of "N/A."  I won't go into the details--it's a long story--but it caused major chaos, since the person filling in for me didn't know what was going on, and it took me quite a while to figure out what was going on.  I didn't even know we'd received the book until long after it was due.  If the patron had kept the book, I would never have known he had it, and we might have wound up paying big bucks for the book.

If I catch the "N/A," I don't record the book as "received."  But that causes some problems too.

I'd better stop.  The short answer--if I'm lucky, an "N/A" due date for a book means a few minutes extra work for me.  If not, it could mean a LOT more time wasted.  I can understand this happening by mistake--it's easy, if you're lending one book in the midst of supply several articles, to forget a due date--but I am NOT happy if a library does it intentionally.

Arthur Robinson (GLG)