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.
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