Holiday slowdown

'Tis the season when things slow down somewhat in ILL. Many academic libraries will close this week after exams, and many public libraries will be short-staffed as people begin holiday travel. This may mean delays in obtaining interlibrary loan items from other libraries.

As requests slow down, we in ILL begin shuffling and discarding paperwork for photocopy requests prior to January 1, 2005 and for loan requests prior to January 1, 2007. The file cabinet will then have enough space to hold all of the requests we will receive in 2008.

CCPL ILL will shut down for the holidays on Friday, December 21 at 5:00 and reopen on Thursday, December 27. We will also be closed Tuesday, January 1, 2008.

Digitized children's books

The Library of Congress has digitzed 50 older (1915 and earlier) children's books in their Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room. Check it out at

http://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/digitalcoll/digitalcoll-children.html

Found via Librarian in Black

Back from SCLA

I spent the last few days in Columbia at the SCLA annual conference. It is great to connect with fellow librarians who are making great strides in the library profession and are willing to share how they did it with others.

The Resource Sharing Interest Group is looking at a number of ways to regenerate and connect interlibrary loan and resource sharing staff across South Carolina. Our first initiative will be a survey sent to all resource sharing staff across the state. What we hope to accomplish is to create a community for sharing tips and tricks, and to provide help to each other when needed.

So watch your snail mail and e-mail - your survey will be available soon!

Applying Tech Trek 2.0 to real life

Over the last year or two I have been compiling a list of items in OCLC that have "Charleston County Library" listed next to them - but that CCPL does not own. I've been putting my findings into a spreadsheet on my hard drive, but this week's Tech Trek quest has inspired me to try to create a file in an online application. It was surprisingly easy to upload, and took less than a minute to do so in spite of the size of the file.

I will continue to add to this file as we reject requests to lend items that we no longer own. I am also comparing our collection decade by decade with the catalog as I have time - working on 1921-1930 at this time.

If you're interested, take a look - over 2,400 items listed.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pMy4FPsw9OU7HQSKtjqnmLA&hl=en

Random statistics

Carrie Volk of Wofford has generated a brochure for our Resource Sharing Interest Group of SCLA. Her fast facts inside the brochure inspired me to do some quick calculations:

In FY 2006 (July 2005-June 2006), public libraries in South Carolina borrowed 37,472 items. CCPL borrowed 5,095 items, or 13.6% of items borrowed (1st in SC).

In FY 2006, public libraries in South Carolina loaned 20,164 items. CCPL loaned 1,491 items, or 7.4% of items loaned (5th in SC).

Silent library

The library is eerily silent tonight - the only sound is the click click click of computer keyboards. No kids wandering the stacks, no one asking for copier change, very very quiet.

If you saw me right now at the reference desk, you wouldn't think we have increased interlibrary loan services over 35% since 2001. We may not look busy at this moment, but go back to the ILL desk and watch the requests roll in from our branches and departments - and from patrons via e-mail.

The pursuit of knowledge connects us all - I'm glad to have an opportunity to share (and be shared with, too)!

Crazy September

We have been absolutely slammed with requests throughout the month of September and are just now to a point where we can breathe, relax, and maybe even post to the blog. More musings to come!

The textbook question, and some answers

School starts this week, and about this time requests for textbooks begin to trickle in.

Textbooks can sometimes be borrowed via interlibrary loan. The main problem is that the maximum time we can have these books is about six weeks, less than half of a semester. If patrons decide to keep them longer, their accounts will be frozen by overdue fines (25 cents per day).

The lending library may need the item back for their own patrons, and we receive unpleasant e-mails and letters until the item is returned. This jeopardizes our ability to borrow items in the future.

An article in the Post and Courier's business review on Monday offers a few options for students who are trying to avoid the outrageous costs of textbooks. A number of online booksellers offer significant discounts on textbooks:

• Half.com
• Amazon.com
• CheapestTextbooks.com
• AbeBooks.com
• Alibris.com
• Campusbooks.com
• BestBookBuys.com
• BarnesandNoble.com
• Vitalsource.com

To see the article, click this link and scroll down to "Other UMPC news:"

http://umpc.com/default.aspx?story_id=109326928

Additional information found via Librarian's Internet Index sites of the week:

MakeTextbooksAffordable.com is a site devoted to a national student campaign against the rising costs of textbooks. California and Massachusetts have legislative bills pending to cap the costs of textbooks.

Resource sharing and SCLA

The Resource Sharing Interest Group (RSIG) of the South Carolina Library Association (SCLA) has been inactive for a while. Carrie Volk of Winthrop University, the chair of this group, is making efforts to revive it.

Their membership has leaned largely toward the academic libraries, and they want more public library participation. Via the State Library, Carrie was given my name as a public interlibrary loan librarian. Today, I was officially appointed secretary of this group for 2007 and 2008.

As library budgets are squeezed, no one library can have everything, and resource sharing is becoming vitally important to obtaining the information our patrons need. I am thrilled to have this opportunity to participate in dreaming and visioning for the future of interlibrary loan in South Carolina.

Reading is fundamental

The ILL department tries its best to include all of the information needed on the outside of every interlibrary loan item. This includes:

• The due date for the item (in nice red ink so it stands out)
• The item ID (for tracking purposes)
• Out telephone number
• Any applicable restrictions (no bookdrop, no renewals, etc)

It is frustrating to hear that the information hasn't been read, or worse, has been removed, despite the large black lettering that says DO NOT REMOVE THIS STRIP. If the strip is removed, the front line staff do not always know that what they have received is an interlibrary loan item. The yellow band serves both staff and patrons by enabling quick identification and return of items to the correct location.

Staff: Please help us out by reminding patrons not to remove the yellow band.

Patrons: Please help us out by leaving the yellow band on the item.

A gentle reminder: new items are not for ILL

We processed 75 new requests yesterday - close to but not quite breaking a record. Of those 75 requests, 7 were for items released in the past two months.

Libraries won't lend out their newer items, because they want their patrons to use them first. We do not lend items from the new book section because our patrons' tax dollars finance them, so CCPL patrons should have first choice of those items.

Items published or released in the last 6 months are not available via interlibrary loan. If you would like one of these items, please submit a suggestion for purchase at any of our branches or by calling Telephone Reference at 805-6930.

For the person who submitted an ILL request for an item with a publication date of September 2007 - our department is good, but not that good! Future publications are not available via interlibrary loan either.

Revolving door

June and July are big vacation months for us in ILL, so it's been like a revolving door - one of us comes back from vacation while another one leaves. Those left behind scramble to make sure everything gets done and try to make everything look effortless.

I have a great crew - hardworking, conscientious, and almost never ill. These reliable folks are always willing to work until our desks are clear, even though some days (including most Mondays) the pile of materials going and coming seems endless.

Thank you to my favorite people - you help make my work a joy, even when things are crazy.

My request has disappeared

When we place an order for an item from another library, a brief (temporary) record is placed in our catalog for the title, and a hold is placed for the patron who ordered it. The tracking number on the title is the same as the number assigned by OCLC, the national database we use for ordering items.

Not all requests are filled on the first (or second) go-round. When a request bounces back to us as unfilled -- after visiting five libraries -- we remove the temporary record for the title with its tracking number, to avoid confusion. If we are able to find other libraries that have the item, we place another order for it. A new brief record is created -- with the new tracking number -- and a hold is placed for the patron.

If we are unable to locate any more libraries that own the item, we contact the patron. This is usually done by postcard, but if an e-mail address is included on the request form, we respond by e-mail.

There is sometimes a time lag between the deletion of one temporary record and its replacement by another. We handle many, many requests every day, and sometimes we have a backlog of new records to place in the catalog. We do the best we can to have all new records in by the end of our business day, but occasionally we have an overnight lag.

If you have any questions regarding your request, please feel free to contact us. Your local branch may be able to provide some information, but more detailed information is available from our department directly (I L L (at) c c p l (dot) org) or 805-6940.

It's nothing personal

Over the years we have had a number of requests we could not fill, for various reasons. Occasionally people will call to ask why. Their tones of voice range from quietly curious to spitting mad, wondering why we are conspiring to deny them their constitutional rights.

Most people understand, in the case of hard-to-find items, that libraries may not want to part with something that is irreplaceable. Others believe that paying taxes allows them to say and do whatever they please, regardless of rules or courtesy.

Frankly, we are so busy that we barely have time to register who is ordering items, much less set up personal vendettas against people. We don't walk into the library each day saying "Who are we not going to help today?" It is much easier and better for my ego to fill a request if I possibly can, but the realities of interlibrary loan sometimes work against us.

If we are not able to fill your request, it is not because we picked your request at random to shred. It is not part of a government plot. We search to the best of our ability, and most of the time we succeed. If sometimes we fail, it is NOT due to lack of trying.

It has been a very long week for us in Charleston. Compared with our firefighters, we librarians have an easy job. Interlibrary loan is not life and death, and no one will die if an item is not loaned, regardless of what it is.

More numbers . . .

I've been working on some comparative statistics - comparing May 2007 with previous Mays, and January-May 2007 with the same period in previous years.

In May 2001 we processed 463 borrowing requests.
In May 2007 we processed 750 borrowing requests (38.3% increase).

In May 2001 we processed 237 lending requests.
In May 2007 we processed 291 lending requests (18.6% increase).

In the period January-May 2001, we processed 2419 borrowing requests.
In the period January-May 2007, we processed 3978 borrowing requests (39.2% increase).

In the period January-May 2001, we processed 1114 lending requests.
In the period January-May 2007, we processed 1621 lending requests (31.3% increase).

It is amazing how much we have grown!

ILL needs a clue . . .

Sometimes the requests we receive are very cryptic. For example, we received a request for newspaper microfilm that gave only the town and the date - no state information, and not the name of the paper.

When we looked up the name of the town, we found that three states in widely different parts of the US had a town by that name, and each had a library. Luckily we were able to reach the patron, who clarified what state she needed.

We also receive requests for items that have been released in multiple formats: book, large print book, audio cassette, CD, DVD, and VHS. It helps us tremendously to know what format you need, so please indicate that on the form. If it doesn't matter whether you have a DVD or VHS, please let us know that too. Sometimes if we can't find one format, we can find another.

Amazon often puts an ASIN in their records for which there is no ISBN. Unfortunately, many of those do not work in OCLC, the database we use for searching items. If the ASIN starts with a B or a 6, we cannot use it. ISBN-10 or ISBN-13's usually work - whichever you can find is fine.

The more clues we have, the faster we can locate an item!

Back to work . . .

I'm back from three days at Mt Pleasant. The change in routine was fun, and I enjoyed the variety of questions presented by a different crop of patrons.

But today I'm in my old groove again - and it does feel good to be back. The pile of notes on my desk was small, which makes me happy. The ILL crew and backup staff did an excellent job (just like they do every day).

A different perspective

I'm visiting the Mt Pleasant branch for a few days as part of our reference staff exchange. All those questions we at Main send off to other departments (AV, Fiction, Young Adult, etc) are handled at one service point. Also all reference-related phone calls are routed to this point as well. It's been a marvelous exercise for my brain but I was relieved when my desk shift ended at 3:00.

I'm also meeting our frequent ILL requestors who were just names on paper. When I called people yesterday to pick up items, those I spoke to were thrilled to hear that their books were in. A few came in within the hour to retrieve their items, and all were pleased with the service. This has been a great experience!

And many thanks to those who are soldiering on in ILL while I'm here - I appreciate your help!

What we lend to other libraries

We are very grateful for anything that other libraries are willing to lend to us. We try to express this gratitude by sharing as many of our resources as possible with other libraries.

In 2004, we began lending our audiovisual materials to other libraries. In previous years we had had a difficult time borrowing music CDs, books on tape, and movies via interlibrary loan. But once we began sharing our collection with others, we started filling a greater proportion of our media requests.

There are a few things that we do not lend:

• Reference books - because we need them here. If we don't let our patrons take them out, we won't send them to another library system.
• South Carolina History Room items - same reason. We will be happy to check for a specific name or page number and make copies of the relevant pages, if that will help.
• Microfilm - our holdings are limited and difficult to replace. Again, if you have a specific citation, we can make copies.
• New books - We like to give our patrons a fair shot at the newest materials. Once books move off of the new book shelf (usually six months or so) we are happy to lend.

Lending begets lending, so we try to be as generous as possible with our collection.

What happens if I return an ILL item late?

The late fine for interlibrary loan items is 25 cents per day, to a maximum late fine of $15.00.

If an item is not returned by three weeks after the due date, the borrower's library card is blocked. If the item is not returned by four weeks after the due date, we contact the lending library and ask for an invoice. Once we receive an invoice, the charges are added to the borrower's library card. Until the charges are paid or the item is returned, borrowers cannot check out any items from any CCPL branch. The charges are nonrefundable.

Charges vary depending upon the lending library. Nearly all libraries charge the replacement cost of the book plus a processing fee (which can vary from $5 to $50 or more). The replacement charges on a rare or out of print item can exceed $100.

Please make every effort to return interlibrary loan items on time. Keeping interlibrary loan items gives CCPL the reputation for being unreliable, and hinders our future ability to borrow items.

Statistics day

At the end of the month, all of the library's departments scurry around collecting numbers and statistics to quantify what we do - and interlibrary loan is no different.

At CCPL, we are fortunate enough to have Clio (http://www.cliosoftware.com), an Access-based program that compiles our requests and helps us turn them into statistical reports. It is much easier for us than counting a large pile of forms or entries in a notebook. The Access platform enables us to generate all kinds of statistics, including average delivery time (9.8 days for 2007).

So how did we do this month? We had 836 requests, counting requests for renewals. We were able to fill 573 of them (69 percent), including 23 items that CCPL already owned. We have 105 requests still outstanding, which means no library has shipped the items as of today. If all of those requests are filled, we will reach 678 requests filled (81 percent).

On the lending side, we received 312 requests to borrow or renew items, of which we filled 156 (50 percent). Our most common reason for not lending an item is that we do not own it (despite what OCLC may say about our holdings).

Over the last three years, our total requests on both borrowing and lending sides have increased close to 10 percent each year. We are busy, busy, busy and we like it!

Will I be notified if my item is unavailable?

Absolutely. We usually send hot pink postcards when this happens, which are designed to be an attention-grabber. We will send e-mail if an e-mail address is included on the request.

We don't telephone when items are unavailable. When we did this, people started showing up at the library thinking they could pick up an item, instead of listening to the message stating that the item was *NOT* available.

If you have questions regarding the status of your interlibrary loan request, please feel free to contact us at 805-6940 or i l l (at) c c p l (dot) org.

Can you get things for college students?

Yes, but you may wish to know of some options that may get you what you need faster.

Many college libraries in South Carolina subscribe to a service called Polaris. This interagency service transfers items between South Carolina college libraries in as little as three working days. If the item you need is not in South Carolina, college libraries subsidize interlibrary loan requests for their students. Many academic libraries will not lend to public libraries, or charge a hefty fee to them for the loan of materials.

About textbooks: just-published textbooks are usually not available via interlibrary loan; mainly because the expense makes libraries reluctant to release them. Some libraries will lend textbooks to public libraries. However, you may only get to keep the item a short time, and certainly not the length of a full academic semester. While we sympathize with the difficulty and expense of buying and reselling textbooks, we cannot buy everyone's textbooks for them, or keep other libraries' books indefinitely. Failure to return items on time jeopardizes our ability to borrow items for others in the future.

Is there anything you can't get?

We have received many requests that we were unable to fill, for a variety of reasons.

• Reason 1: No library wants to lend the item. This can happen with very rare items, older publications, and hard-to-replace genealogical material. It also frequently happens with DVDs, videos, and CDs - very few libraries are willing to let these items out.
• Reason 2: Some libraries may be willing to lend the item, but charge a fee to do so. Many academic libraries charge $20.00 or more to lend items to public libraries.
• Reason 3: The item has just been released or published. No library wants to let a recently acquired item vanish from their collection, when their taxpaying patrons may want it.
• Reason 4: The item was scheduled to be published, but has been delayed. If no one has the item, we cannot obtain it.
• Reason 5: Citation errors. With the advent of the Internet, more information is available on a variety of topics. Unfortunately, some people's citation lists are not as accurate as others; titles may be misquoted and misappropriated. Other people refer to these pages, and the errors perpetuate themselves.
• Reason 6: The item may not be available in the format you want. We have had increasing demand for books on CD; they are not released fast enough for the just-published book to have a CD format, unless it is a guaranteed best-seller.

We will do our best to obtain the items requested, but not everything ever published is available for interlibrary loan. We can usually fill 75-80 percent of the requests we get.

That library in the wilds of Alaska has the book I want

The Internet has provided us with numerous ways to locate information and items to borrow - library catalogs, WorldCat.org, Amazon, historical society websites - just about everyone has links to resources on every topic.

So you've found a library that owns the item you want - what can the interlibrary loan department do for you?

Keep in mind that the library that owns the item may not be willing to lend it out or may charge fees for loaning items to CCPL. If the lending library charges a fee, the fee is passed on to the person ordering the item.

Since most people want free items, the interlibrary loan department will begin locating free lenders geographically. We start with South Carolina libraries, then move to North Carolina and Georgia, then expand our search as needed. Most of our items are located at libraries within the southeast.

So if you want that book from Alaska, please know that we will try to locate a lending library closer to us first, so that you can get your book faster!

How many ILL items can I have?

Interlibrary loan requests are limited to 4 "active" requests at one time.

What is an "active" request?

• an item that we are searching for
• an item that we have received, but is on its way to a branch for you
• an item that is checked out to you
• an item that is in-library use only, but is still being held for you
• an item that has been returned, but is on its way back to us

Requests for photocopies only count as active until the copies arrive at CCPL; since they do not have to be returned, the request becomes inactive upon our receipt of the copies.

If you exceed your limit, the extra requests are placed in a hold file in the interlibrary loan department. They are processed as items on your account are returned or become inactive.

What's this yellow thing on my item?

In order to quickly identify interlibrary loan items and separate them from CCPL items, we place a large yellow bookband on the item.

This band is not just decorative; it contains useful information regarding the item - not the least important of which is the due date, stamped in bright red.

The band also has the reminder that interlibrary loan items should be returned inside the library, to minimize the potential for damage in the bookdrop. Our contact information is included, in case a renewal is needed or questions arise.

PLEASE do not remove this band. Unidentified non-CCPL items are routed to our administrative department, which could result in increasing late fines or item loss fees if they are not located promptly.

I've been on the waiting list forever . . .

Can I get a CCPL item that has a long waiting list via interlibrary loan?

If CCPL owns an item, we cannot borrow that item from another library. We cannot deprive another library system of a popular item just because we have a waiting list. If the waiting list is excessively long, CCPL may purchase more copies.

If all of CCPL's copies are lost (checked out & not returned) or missing from our shelves, we can try to find the item in another library system.

If the item is on the shelf at another CCPL branch, you may place a hold through the CCPL library catalog online or contact the branch directly to obtain the item. If you have trouble with the library catalog, our reference staff will be glad to help you (call 805-6930).

How long do I get to keep my item?

The loan period for an interlibrary loan item is set by the lending library. Most libraries give 3-4 weeks for items; many have shorter loan periods and a few longer.

Returning items by the date stamped on our yellow bookband will ensure that we are able to borrow books again from the lender. Many items are also renewable if you contact us before item is due.

I want a book that CCPL will not let me check out

We are unable to borrow items that CCPL owns via interlibrary loan. Our precedent for this is set by the national Interlibrary Loan Code, devised by the American Library Association (http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaprotools/referenceguide/interlibrary.htm).

Certain items at CCPL do not circulate, such as reference books and items in our South Carolina History Room. The reasoning behind this is that these items should be equally available to everyone who comes in to use them, and our ability to help others could be jeopardized if an item is checked out and not returned. This is especially true of South Carolina Room items, many of which are unique and irreplaceable.

The Reference Department and the South Carolina Room staff are delighted to help with any questions you might have regarding these items, including locating specific citations within them. Visit our website (www.ccpl.org) and click "Services" for more information.

How long will it take to get my item?

Before we can obtain any interlibrary loan item, four things have to happen:

• A library has to own the item
• The library has to be willing to lend the item
• The library has to be able to find the item on its shelves
• The library has to prepare and ship the item

Libraries have different response rates for the above actions. Some will process the request the same day they receive it; others, if they are a small system or have a large number of requests, will take longer to respond.

In South Carolina, most libraries participate in the interagency mail system, which transfers items from library to library within a week. Outside of South Carolina, most libraries ship items to us via library mail, which is inexpensive but can be V E R Y slow. Our average turnaround time, from placing the request to receiving the item, is 10-11 days. Transferring the item from the Main branch to other branches can take 2-3 days.

Unfortunately, rush service is not available. For those who need items right away, there are other non-library venues, such as Amazon's next-day delivery service. And yes, that is not free. If speed is a priority, interlibrary loan may not be a good choice.

If you are willing to wait a bit, interlibrary loan can be a great way to view items from all across the country.

Can I get the new Harry Potter book via ILL?

Unfortunately, no.

Most libraries will not lend items that have just been released. If this sounds selfish, think about it - if CCPL had a hot new item that everyone wanted, would you want us to send it out to another library system? We're all looking out for our own patrons here - the ones who provide the tax base to keep us going. These libraries would be happy to lend the item several months down the road, when their patrons' demands for the item have decreased.

So now what? CCPL is always happy to entertain suggestions for purchase. They can be submitted in the library, by phone, or via our AskAQuestion service (http://www.ccpl.org/content.asp?id=14596&action=detail&catID=5407&parentID=5373).

In most cases, the item will be purchased, and those who requested it notified. If the item is not purchased, those who requested it will be notified as well - and then we can try the interlibrary loan process.

So you want to borrow an item from another library

Now what?

You can submit your request in several ways:

• in person at a branch
• by telephone, to Interlibrary Loan directly at 805-694o or Main Telephone Reference at 805-6930 or the branch of your choice
• by e-mail at i l l (at) c c p l (dot) org
• via our webform at http://www.ccpl.org/content.asp?name=Site&catID=9749&parentID=9676

We will need your library card number, contact information, and as much information about the item you want as you can find.

Why your library card number? If you do not have a library card, you cannot borrow CCPL items. If you can't borrow CCPL items, we cannot ask other libraries to lend their items to us for you.

We take your contact information in as many forms as possible so we can be sure of reaching you when your item is available, or if we have a question about your request. We can contact you by mail, by phone, or by e-mail.

The more we know about the item you want, the better chance we have of finding it. This is especially true when the same title is available in a variety of formats - book, CD, DVD, etc. At minimum, we need a title and author for books/books on CD, title and artist for music CDs, and title and release date for DVDs.

Interlibrary loan items, like CCPL items, can be sent to any branch. We need to know which branch you use so we can send the item there for you. You will be notified by phone, e-mail or postcard when the item is available.

What is interlibrary loan, anyway?

Interlibrary loan enables libraries to share resources with each other. For those not fluent in library-speak, it means that if your library does not own an item, they can try to get it for you from another library system.

Some libraries use this term to describe the movement of items between branches of the same library system, but we will use the definition above.

I hope to use this blog to help both patrons and library staff understand just what interlibrary loan can do - and what, unfortunately, it can't do. I will be posting my thoughts on the service, and hope that you will do the same.