Holiday slowdown - apologies in advance

If you order an item via ILL in the next couple of weeks, please be patient. Many academic libraries are closing for the holidays on Friday, December 12. This means the pool of libraries that we can choose from will shrink dramatically.

Also, most of our deliveries come by US mail. This time of year, the USPS is stretched to its limit delivering all sorts of goodies, so library mail may be slower than usual.

Please feel free to order items, but be aware that it may take us longer to receive items than our normal 2-3 weeks.

We will be closed December 24, 25, 26, and January 1.

Myth #8: People read this blog :)

Ouch - ten months since a post - and no one missed us! I guess our target audience is . . . off target . . . or those who really love/hate us will call or e-mail.

I will attempt to be more vigilant about posting - I'm off to SCLA this week and hope we can revive the resource sharing group.

Myth #7: "I didn't know that _______" is an all-purpose excuse

Fact: Patrons come up with all sorts of excuses for returning items late, in the bookdrop, or just generally not following the instructions that come with an interlibrary loan. The one that irks me the most is the amalglam of "I didn't know that _____" or "I didn't read that ______" or "I assumed that _____."

Excuse #1: "I didn't know that I couldn't return ILL items in the bookdrop."

Allow me to quote from the Interlibrary Loan Patron Responsibility Agreement, which all patrons are required to sign when picking up an interlibrary loan item:

"I understand that this loan represents a special service and that my obligation is to return these items on time and to the REFERENCE DESK of the library where I picked it up. I will not return it via the bookdrops." [italics mine]

Failure to read what you are signing does not absolve you of responsibility for the item.

Excuse #2: "I didn't know the due date was different from CCPL items - I thought I had a month."

The due date for interlibrary loan items is stamped upon the yellow band in red ink to make it very prominent. The Main reference desk staff (at least when I'm around) make a point of showing the patron the due date, and showing the patron the phone number for asking for renewals.

Again, failure to note this date does not absolve you from late fines.

Excuse #3: "I didn't know the yellow band had to stay on the item."

And the big black bold letters that say "DO NOT REMOVE THIS STRIP" are not there for decorative purposes. The yellow band contains information to help interlibrary loan staff match the item with the lender's paperwork to return to that library. It also contains information for patrons, including the due date and contact information for interlibrary loan. It also serves as a flag to our circulation departments if the item is accidentally mixed with CCPL items.

If the band is removed, and the item is returned in the bookdrop or in a pile of CCPL items, our circulation departments will route the item to our Administration office for courtesy returns. The ILL department is in an entirely different part of the building, and does not see these items.

Failure to follow instructions is does not absolve you from responsibility for interlibrary loan items.

CCPL staff - help us out by reminding patrons that the yellow band needs to stay on the items, and by pointing out the helpful information on the band. Maybe if we say it often enough, we can educate our public.

Myth #6 - The ILL department is psychic, or WHERE'S MY BOOK?

Fact: The ILL department cannot predict when an ILL item will arrive.

If an item is available in South Carolina, it is most likely at a library that uses interagency mail. This is a service provided by the State Library to nearly all the public and most of the college libraries. We have a high success rate with this, and requests that would take three weeks by USPS from the College of Charleston now arrive within a week. This is contingent on the lending library being able to find the item on their shelves and being able to ship it in a timely fashion after locating it. This service is not trackable and is subject to closure for holidays.

In most cases, we locate items outside of South Carolina. Most libraries use USPS library mail, which is inexpensive but slow. It is also not trackable, so if a library ships an item to us, we at CCPL cannot know where the item is at any given time, much less on what day the item will appear. Sometimes we are lucky and the item comes quickly - but in many cases we find ourselves waiting a month or more.

A few libraries will ship via UPS or FedEx, but this is rare and we are usually not told that items are shipped this way until they arrive.

Most libraries try to respond to our requests quickly, but some will take their time in responding. This is not something that we at CCPL can control; we cannot dictate procedure to other libraries. Obtaining items via interlibrary loan is dependent upon the will and whims of the lending libraries. We do our best to order from libraries that respond quickly but the rarity of some items may limit our choices.

So if your item does not arrive right away, it is not for lack of trying by the CCPL interlibrary loan staff. When we receive items, we process them right away so patrons can use them, but we cannot control the US Postal Service and are dependent on them for delivery.

Myth #5 - Amazon's ASINs are helpful in searching for ILL items

Fact: Unfortunately, unless the ASIN starts with zero (0) or one (1), it is not searchable in WorldCat, which is the database we use for borrowing books and other items. So if the ASIN starts with B or 6, which many audiovisual items show, they don't need to be added to the ILL form.

For film requests, we don't need a number; we just need a good idea of what the patron needs. If a movie has been made and remade, we need to know which version the patron wants. Having the star's or director's name helps. We also need to know which format the patron prefers - DVD or VHS. If no format is indicated, we will order the format that is most widely available.

For music CDs, we need title and artist. Release dates also help.

If you have trouble verifying the existence of either type of item, indicate that on the ILL request form and send it to us anyway. Not every item is in Amazon (though they'd like to think so).

Myth #4: ILL items can be renewed like CCPL items

Fact: The libraries that lend us interlibrary loan items set the due dates. For any extension of these dates, we have to obtain permission from the lending library.

On the yellow band on the front of each interlibrary loan item, we give the telephone number of the interlibrary loan department (805-6940) and ask that patrons call at least two days in advance. Some leeway is granted in the case of holidays. When we are contacted, we send a message to the lending library via OCLC or e-mail. When they respond (and this can take anywhere from 1-7 days), we contact the patron to let him/her know the new due date.

Sometimes a patron will ask Circulation for a bulk renewal of their items. Interlibrary loan items will not renew without an override. If you are doing a bulk renewal, and you see an interlibrary loan item appear, please do NOT override to renew it. (Interlibrary loan items will have the designation "ILL item" before the title.) Please let the patron know that he/she will need to contact the Interlibrary Loan Department directly.

Myth #3 - Every library lends for free

Fact: Though it would make our lives much easier if everything was freely available, many academic and out-of-state public libraries charge a fee to lend items or make photocopies.

CCPL does participate in Libraries Very Interested in Sharing (LVIS), a consortium of 1800+ libraries that agree to lend items for free. Also, these libraries will photocopy up to 30 pages free of charge. In most cases, we are able to fill requests using these libraries or other free lenders.

If an item is not freely available, we contact our patrons to give them the option of canceling the request or paying a lending fee.

Myth #2: ILL items are just like CCPL items

Fact: ILL items are loaned to our library as a courtesy. If we violate this courtesy, other libraries will not be willing to lend items to us.

When a library lends an item to us, we are expected to abide by the terms the library sets. This may include restrictions to in-library use, no photocopying, no renewals, and return by a traceable method such as UPS.

One of the most important terms a library sets is the due date. Failure to return an ILL item by its due date jeopardizes the lending library's ability to serve its own patrons, for whom the item was purchased in the first place. Failure to return an interlibrary loan item at all requires the lender to search for and purchase a replacement copy. In the case of an out-of-print book, this can cost hundreds of dollars.

This is why yellow bands are put on our ILL items for easy identification. This is why we ask that the items not be returned in the bookdrop. This is why we charge late fines of .25/day to "encourage" items to be returned on time. If we cannot keep faith with our lenders, we will not be able to borrow items.

ILL Myth #1: Patrons must call or visit a branch to place an ILL request

Fact: Patrons may place an interlibrary loan request online by filling out our online form. They may also e-mail requests to ill@ccpl.org. Main Reference's AskAQuestion service also accepts ILL requests - but filling out the online ILL form sends the requests directly to the ILL e-mail account.