Interlibrary Loan Center Update By Marilyn Graves NOBLE ILL Center

Looking at How ILL Works

The NOBLE ILL Center Spring open house was held on May 23rd. After introductions, the new website for the ILL Center was presented. http://wordpress.noblenet.org/noble/ill/.

Assistant Regional Administrator, Mary Behrle presented information on Regional ILL policies. She discussed the Regional ILL FAQ's , http://www.nmrls.org/ill/ILL_FAQ.shtml, and the NMRLS ILL policies, particularly regarding limitations on media with consideration to costs, member needs and budget.

The last part of the meeting consisted of a group activity leading to a discussion on practices and trends in ILL at member libraries. Participants were asked to consider four questions.

The first question asked who handles ILL in the library. ILL's are either handled at the Circulation or Reference desk.

How ILL is promoted at libraries was the next issue. Several libraries promoted ILL verbally during a transaction with the patron, some libraries had a pamphlet where patrons could learn about ILL services in the Region and others talked about sending emails to patrons if a VirtCat request was unfilled offering regional ILL service. This all painted a picture of how an ILL got from a patron needing something to a request through interviews, searches or verbal reminders.

The last question addressed trends libraries are seeing in ILL. Sometimes the perception is that all information is on the web. But with the increased use of the web patrons find more topics or titles than ever before. Because of this patrons want more. What they can't get on the web they can order through ILL. The number of requests has increased and librarians see this as a result of the use of the web.

This wrapped up the meeting and we hoped those in attendance got some ideas on promoting ILL and considering the impact of new technologies on what patrons want. Even though patrons are getting more through using the web there is still a place for the type of ILL that requires the transfer of a physical item. At least for the time being.

Thanks to all the librarians who participated in the open house.