1. Meeting the needs of our users
Show and tell
Wednesday 15 March 2017
How we source documents to provide the best possible Interlending and Document Supply Service

2. How is the work organised?
“Triage” Team – Alison, Megan, Zoë, Nikki, Stacey and Sarah
Collections Team
Processing new requests and sourcing documents
Following up on requests not first supplied
Liaison with suppliers
Keeping users informed and enquiries including renewals
1 person per day (+ lunch/break cover)
Arrival of books
Return of books
Arrival of copies – electronic and print
Requests from other institutions for our books and journal articles
1 person per day

3. Emphasis is on: Having supply rates as high as possible
Supplying the item as quickly as possible and within the timescale given by the user
Supplying the item in the format the user wants
Keeping users informed

4. How do we try and achieve this?
We have designed a web form that has questions aimed at finding out what the user wants
Time is taken finding out the best route of supply – and it does not only include supplying from other Libraries
Some processes e.g. copyright declarations and faculty authorisation have been changed to speed things up

5. The web request form
Provides a text box for item details enabling easy copying and pasting of info and multiple items on one form
It asks if the patron prefers print, electronic or no preference
It asks for a last date that the item will be of use to them
It asks for the name of a member of Faculty for authorisation – WE then contact them not the student
The user agrees to the copyright statement avoiding the need for further communication

6. Routes of supply - books
A large proportion are supplied by loans from the British Library
We supply some from other Libraries – mostly ones included in COPAC
We buy some books for library stock e.g. new books
NEW – Purchase books on Amazon and give to user if they cost less than £15
NEW – Use Ebook Central PDA to supply books if patron has specified preferring electronic and /or it is seen as best or only route due to availability or timescales.
A few (not many) are in stock!

7. What do we do with a request for a book?
We check that the book is not in this Library.
We then check COPAC and WorldCat for availability in Libraries
If the person has expressed a preference for electronic we investigate availability via Ebook Central for less than £125
If not, or the person prefers print, we would check Amazon to see if available for less than £15

8. What do we do with a request for a book? (continued)
If we have decided to request from other Libraries we add to Aleph and apply to the first choice library
Occasionally when they are in the BL or elsewhere but not for remote access we might have to inform the user they need to visit the other Library
Some books are just not available anywhere but this is fairly unusual.
Over 90% of requests are fulfilled

9. Which Library can supply?
We check COPAC for Library holdings
BL is preferred route BUT need to check if available for remote supply
With other libraries we take account of:
Which are most likely to loan – is it on loan, ref. only or high demand and are there multiple copies
Might it be a legal deposit copy
Past experience with Libraries
If we cannot find on COPAC we would try WorldCat which has holdings of more libraries and if only available overseas we would consider a BL World wide search

10. Key factors are cost, speed and/or availability
Why Amazon?
If available for less than £15 via Amazon UK (not Amazon marketplace) the decision is easy - we definitely buy and give the book to the user
e.g. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (supplied in 5 days including weekend, cost £9.79)
We have supplied books via Amazon marketplace when it is the only route.
e.g.
Title: 猫と庄造と二人のおんな
Author: 谷崎潤一郎 ISBN: (supplied in 11 days incl. two weekends)
Key factors are cost, speed and/or availability

11. Key factors are preferred format, cost, speed and/or availability
Why Ebook Central?
If a person has said they prefer electronic we definitely invite the user to request the e-book via EBC if less than £125. If a patron has no preference we have to weigh up the options
If available via other Libraries it will depend on cost and deadlines
Is it something likely to be relevant to others?
e.g.: Understanding Families over Time: Research and Policy, Holland J & Edwards R, eds. (user had no preference but only held as an e-book in other Libraries and £89 via EBC)
If it is the over £125 and not available via another route we can
liaise with AELS re. purchasing the book (electronic and /or print)
Consider short term loan via EBC (not our preferred option)
Key factors are preferred format, cost, speed and/or availability

12. Routes of supply – Journal articles
A large proportion are supplied electronically by the British Library – cheapest and mostly the quickest route
We supply some from other Libraries – mostly ones included in SUNCAT
Quite a few (mostly electronic journals) are available via our subscriptions
A small number are found to be freely available if you google the article title
Occasionally we purchase articles (with AELs permission) from publishers’ websites if its not available from libraries yet or if a user wants a special issue

13. We also supply other types of material
There is not enough time to go into detail but the main ones are:
Theses – mostly met by ProQuest or Ethos purchases
Set of music scores for UEA Concerts. These are arranged initially by the Concert Co-ordinator but they are requested via us and have very different processes to anything else and have their own challenges
Miscellaneous

14. The work can be.…
Challenging - We are constantly learning new things – different sources, who supplies books quickly, how best to search Interesting - The range of requests is vast and at times it feels like being a detective trying to find a location – or even if the item exists at all Frustrating - When references are inaccurate or difficult to find. Rewarding - When a document arrives after being difficult to source, feeling that we have really helped the researcher, when appreciation is shown for what we have achieved. It is also good having contact with Library staff in other institutions – it feels like you are part of a larger library communicating working together to help one another

15. Thank you for listening
Any questions?