Cutting Out the Middleman: Patron-Initiated Interlibrary Loans - Southern Illinois University library - Abstract

Library Trends, Summer, 1998 by Barbara G. Preece, Thomas L. Kilpatrick

While all ILCSO members have the option of letting their patrons use Illinet Online as a source of unmediated borrowing, only five libraries have elected to invoke this option. SIUC implemented the unmediated borrowing option in fall 1993. The use of this service clearly supports three of the objectives of the NAILDD "Overview and Vision Statement" to enable libraries to:

   Search a variety of local and remote catalogs. Transfer a citation into an
   electronic request or order. Direct a request or order to ... a local or
   remote library ILL/document delivery department. (Association of Research
   Libraries, 1994b, p. 1)

This service allows patrons to borrow materials from other ILCSO libraries on a "self-serve" basis. Patrons are free to select the library from which to borrow and to check out materials from that library's circulating collection unassisted by library staff. However, with this freedom comes responsibility. Since library staff have not been involved in placing the request, the patron must assume responsibility for monitoring the request's progress and paying any fines or processing fees incurred if the item is not returned in a timely manner.

When the service was implemented in 1993, the library mounted a publicity campaign to encourage its patrons to try this new service. Workshops, handouts, and notices in the university's newspaper announced the introduction of the service. Word-of-mouth and encouragement from library staff to try the service also contributed to its acceptance. While a workshop dedicated exclusively to the self-serve feature is no longer offered, it is one component of the "Interlibrary Loan Workshop" that is offered regularly as part of SIUC's Library Affairs Seminar Series.

Patrons may access ILLINET Online on computers located in SIUC's Morris Library and from personal computers that have a Telnet connection in their home, office, or dorm room. Anyone affiliated with SIUC, including students, faculty, and staff, can self-charge, renew, or recall items from any of the member libraries through an easy-to-use pop-up box that facilitates the procedure. SIUC library's Web page provides a link to IO and instructions on how to charge items through IO. If a patron submits a paper ILL request or a Web-based ILL form for an item located in another ILCSO library, an Access Services staff member charges the item to the patron's identification number, notifies the patron of the charge, and sends a brochure explaining the self-charge option.

Once a charge is initiated, the lending library receives a computer-generated page slip indicating that the item has been requested for an individual at a remote site. The library then pages the item and sends it, through the statewide delivery system, to the borrower's home library. If the item cannot be provided, the transaction is discharged, and notification is sent to the patron's home library that the item will not be sent.

Since ILLINET Online does not generate notification letters, the SIUC staff developed a program tied to its ILLWeb Program that produces a notification letter and a book band. This program tracks all borrowing requests and serves as a record of items received from other ILCSO libraries.