Hi
I'm sure the majority of you will have the user collect their ILL loans from either the ILL Office or library counter. But does anyone in ILL-land have self-collection of ILLs? (not including Reference Only material of course) In Plymouth we already have self-collection and self-issue of reservations from shelves in our short-loan area (almost entirely problem-free!) and I've been asked to investigate the possibility of doing something similar for ILLs. The two big problems are "security" and "issuing".
- Security - we are talking here of material that belongs to other libraries and which is expensive to replace if lost (especially if a BL item!). So we need to protect the item from theft or misuse until it is issued and responsibility shifts!
- Issuing - ILL items do not conform to standard issuing patterns and so cannot be self-issued. A 7 day loan can have a computer rule set that adds 7 days to the day of issue to generate a return date. ILLs have a predetermined return date, set by the lender, and this applies regardless of when the item is borrowed, making it impossible for computer-generated algorithms to work. This means any process has to involve library staff to issue.
I have identified a possible product that would provide a secure store for an item and which could be removed at a counter issue point by library staff to allow issuing (once issued responsibility for the item rests with the borrower, including the full replacement cost if lost!). I would be interested in colleagues thoughts around this self-collection issue.
Cheers
Graham
Graham Titley
Document Delivery and Copyright Librarian
University of Plymouth
Drake Circus
Plymouth
PL4 8AA
Tel: 01752 587162 or 587161
Email: [log in to unmask]
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