[ILL-L] conditional & incorrect citations

[Robyn Clark-Bridges]

It depends on how busy I am on any given day w/ ILL requests as to how much
time I can devote to correcting an incoming citation.  I'm guessing the
libraries who say 'no' & pass it on down the string are swamped & don't have
extra time to do the necessary sleuthing.  Also, some ILL colleagues have
students filling ILL requests with little professional oversight, which
makes it more likely that the request will quickly get passed on with an
incorrect citation.

I love challenges & often thrive on finding what nobody else can
find...being the 4th or last on a request string can be a red flag
indicating an incorrect citation.  Although I take great pride in filling
something others before me were unable to,  there are days when I also feel
it's better to pass the request on down the string after a superficial hunt
to correct an incoming citation than to sit on it & discover the correct
source (I do notify the borrowing library what steps I took to find the
correct citation--generally in a personal email, but sometimes in a
conditional response).


Peace,
Robyn (Clark-Bridges)
ILL Assc. & PM Supervisor
Library, Mount Mercy College (UIW)
Cedar Rapids, IA
work phone:  319-368-6465
fax number:  319-363-9060
work email:  rclark at mtmercy.edu


On Fri, Oct 23, 2009 at 11:57 AM, Potapoff,Jason <JPOTAPOF at nait.ca> wrote:

> I agree.  It is not only inconsiderate for the other libraries that will
> have to process the request but it is inconsiderate for the ILL person who
> made the request. I know if I make a request where the citation is wrong I
> would really appreciate being told that the citation is wrong and not just
> be given a no without a reason (or an inaccurate reason like No, do not
> have).  I want to know if the citation I have is wrong so I can try and get
> a correct citation to avoid continuing to use a bad citation when requesting
> the item from other libraries.   I may not be able to tell that the citation
> is wrong when I get it (how would I unless it is incomplete or for articles
> that do not match the citation when I double check it in a database). Or it
> could be something as a simple I made a typo when I made the request (I know
> I should catch those when I double and triple check the request before I
> send it but sometimes they still slip through).
>
> Knowing that the citation wrong makes it more likely that the correction
> can be made and result in a successful ILL after all instead of having to
> tell the patron that there are no libraries that can lend the item.
>
>
>
> Jason Potapoff
> Interlibrary Loans Technician - NAIT Library
> P 471.8780
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
>
> Message: 16
> Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:50:55 -0400
> From: "Breedlove, W Stephen" <breedlov at lasalle.edu>
> Subject: [ILL-L] USING THE CONDITIONAL
> To: "ill-l at webjunction.org" <ill-l at webjunction.org>
> Message-ID:
>        <D314B6C80B0A744F813C5E8254C0B98B0A422F998F at mail-srv.email.local>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
>
> The people that should see this message are probably not on this list.
>
> Please conditional a request that has an incorrect citation.  Don't say NO
> and let it go to the next library who will spend time on it needlessly.
>
> Yesterday, we processed two requests that had bad citations.  We were the
> last library in the five-symbol string on both requests.
>
> What appalled me about the above two requests was that the first library
> must have seen that they were bad citations, said NO, the second library saw
> they were bad citations, said NO, the third library saw that they were bad
> citations, said NO, the fourth library saw that they were bad citations,
> said NO, and they came to us, the fifth library.  We spent time on the
> requests, saw that they were bad citations and set the requests to
> CONDITIONAL indicating "check citation."  If the first library had done
> this, a lot of staff time at four other libraries would not have been
> wasted.
>
> This happens quite frequently.  It is rude and inconsiderate of your ILL
> colleagues.
>
>
> W. Stephen Breedlove
> Reference and Interlibrary Loan Librarian
> La Salle University Library
> breedlov at lasalle.edu
> 215-951-1862
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>


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Peace,
Robyn (Clark-Bridges)
ILL Assc. & PM Supervisor
Library, Mount Mercy College (UIW)
Cedar Rapids, IA
work phone:  319-368-6465
fax number:  319-363-9060
work email:  rclark at mtmercy.edu
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