DOS AND DON’TS IN BEST INTERLIBRARY LOAN PRACTICES Zheng Ye (Lan) Yang Head of Delivery Services Texas A&M University Libraries

Borrowing  Do include a standard number (OCLC, ISSN, ISBN) in your request.  Do not submit a copy request for a book chapter or a journal article without giving adequate information.  Do not request copies of multiple chapters into one single copy request.  Do not request returnable material as a Copy request.

Borrowing  Do still request the following types of materials from other libraries, even though they might be difficult to borrow. Recently published items; Textbooks; Entire volumes or issues of periodicals; reference works; audiovisual materials; computer software; dissertations and theses from outside North America.  Do make sure the lending library of your choice does own the requested item when you submit a RUSH request.  Do request renewals BEFORE the item is due, not three weeks after the due date.

Borrowing  Do use the “SHIP VIA” field to indicate to lenders the actual means by which you wish an item to be shipped, be it via Ariel, Odyssey, UPS, or other means.  Do not request from free libraries (LVIS) if you cannot offer the same free service to them.  Do not interpret “RECIPROCAL LENDER – YES” as meaning the lender will automatically not charge your library because your statement also says reciprocal.

Borrowing  Do not request from charging libraries if you cannot pay.  Do update to “Received” in a timely manner.  Do respond to “RECALL” messages in a timely manner.  Do check OCLC Status before cancelling a request. (Pending, In-Process, Shipped)  Do not tape book band/book strap directly to another library’s book cover.

Borrowing  Do put your own borrowing strap over the lender’s so that your patron can see due date, contact information and restriction rules.  Do read and follow lender’s instruction when returning specific items using a specific shipping method.  Do return the paperwork attached to the returnable back to the lending library.

Lending  Do not update to “shipped” unless you have the item already scanned/copied/faxed or packed and delivered.  Do include a COVER SHEET with pertinent information such as the ILL number and title of the request when sending article via Ariel/Odyssey/Fax/ .  Do not skip or miss any pages when you scan/copy/fax.  Do not reply with “no, unspecified.”

Lending  Do not reply with “no, non-circulating” for Copy requests.  Do not use “no, non-circulating” as a cancellation reason for a copy request.  Do check your re-shelfing area before sending a cancellation reason as “no, not on shelf.”  Do check Maxcost field before filling the request.

Lending  Do not send a conditional if requested item is checked out or non-circulating.  Do not issue an overdue notice without checking your own shelf first to make sure that the item has not already been returned.  Do respond to a RENEWAL request in a timely fashion, even if your answer is “No.”  Do respond to “NOT RECEIVED” messages in a timely manner.

Lending  Do not send a returnable with a “N/A” in the due date field.  Do make sure the items you lend do have ownership markings on it, including your library’s city and state.  Do include the paperwork and a return label in the item you send out.  Do not fold and staple the paperwork repeatedly.

Shipping and General  Do always include the words “ILL” and “Library” in the address of anything shipped to another library including reimbursement checks, overdue notices, and ILL materials.  Do ship and return items to the address specified on the OCLC request form.  Do be mindful that institutions with similar names exist and software that automatically prompts a fill-in may not be the one you need.

Shipping and General  Do not ship items from multiple branches all back to one branch.  Do return county library books back to the county in the correct state.  Do ship AV, microform in a box.  Do not mail items in a Jiffy bag, made with recyclable newspaper as the filling.

Shipping and General  Do include your OCLC symbol in the subject line when posting message announcing changes in your shop, such as change of your Ariel and Odyssey addresses.  Do update your changes in your OCLC Policy Directory and Constant Data.  Do display your OCLC symbol and department phone number in your library’s ILL webpage.

Shipping and General  Do include your address in the OCLC Policy and OCLC constant data worksheet.  Do pay attention to the details of every request.  Do consider the following proper listserv etiquette:

Shipping and General Never hit the reply button unless you intend for EVERYONE to read your message. Make sure to hit the reply button, rather than responding to an individual, if your response appears to be of general interest. If you would like others to respond to you directly please include your own personal address.

Shipping and General If you wish to an individual, compose a new message that contains only that person’s address. Stick to intended topics of the listserv. Keep message brief. As a general rule, summarize the message you are responding to rather than including it in your message; however, if the posting is a series of questions in a survey form, it would be preferable to keep the original message and reply to each question presented.

Shipping and General If your answer to a question is no or yes or thank you, please respond only to the requester and not to the entire listserv. Use the same subject line as the original query. Do not use capital letters in your for emphasis as that is considered to be the same as shouting. Instead, use an asterisk before and after the word or phrase you want to emphasize.

Great Resource  ShareILL

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