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Interlibrary Loan Round Table - August 2019 Summary

Summary:
There were 10 minutes of technical difficulty until we switched rooms.

 

Reminders:

  • Please include return labels in both courier and USPS items sent.
  • If a request goes to your unfilled or retry statuses, please look at the notes to see why the request was not filled before just sending it out again.
  • Please do not submit requests for books on their publication date. Due to processing time, a month wait was asked before requesting new items.

 

Topics discussed:
Piggybacking interlibrary loans – Do a lot of libraries do this, and is it considered acceptable? Some libraries will let a second patron borrow an ILL once it has been returned by the first patron because there is still a long time left on the loan period. It was agreed that this is something most libraries do and is fine as long as the item is returned on time.

 

Due dates/Loan periods – The loan periods vary widely from library to library. The group would like to discuss this as a whole to see if there can be an agreement made to standardize the loan periods of items (with exceptions for new or video formats). This is a topic the group will tackle at a future meeting.

 

Procedures for libraries that shut down – Currently there is no standard procedure for when libraries close (as Southern Vermont College did), even if they have outstanding loans. This is something we can talk about as a group, and I can work on a standard policy/timeline that can be implemented in the event that a library announces it is closing.

 

ILL Policies – Every library should have a policy outlining what they will request for their patrons and what they will lend to other libraries. I have a sample policy that I developed for state employees, and am creating a Google Drive folder so that others can add their policies for examples.

 

Vermont ILL Code – We started going through section by section, and I have added our suggested edits to the working document (linked below). We made it through parts 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0. We still need to go through section 5.0 (Responsibilities of Supplying Library). The general timeline we agreed on was to finish going through the Vermont ILL Code at our next meeting (in November) as well as begin to look at how we can continue to align the state policy with the US ILL Code. Then at the meeting after that (February) to go over it one final time and send to the appropriate organizations and departments for approval. Between the November meeting and the February meeting I plan on sharing the draft as widely as possible in the Vermont library community to gain feedback and to call attention to the fact that the code exists for those who may not know.

 

Links: