Step 1

Getting started: Establish policies for patron requesting, decide on systems.

Part 1: Establish borrowing policies for your library.

Think about:

• Who can request ILLs? (any patron; students/staff/faculty; distance learners)
• How much is your library willing to pay for an ILL?
• Do you want to charge your patrons? For any ILL costs, or just when the fee is above your maximum costs? How will you track charges and collect money, if you do charge?
• How much ILL do you want to do? Do you want to limit ILL requesting?
• Are there certain materials you do not want to request? common ones are: materials your library owns but that are non-circulating, in special collections or on reserve; materials you have on microfilm; textbooks. Many libraries will request paper copies of books they have electronically only, or copies of books they own that are in use/on loan.

Sample ILL policies:

• MassCat: http://www.masscat.org/ill/samples.htm
• Montana Libraries: http://montanalibraries.org/ILLTraining/ill_policies.htm
• Michigan Library Exchange ILL Policies: http://www.umd.umich.edu/mile/MiLE-ILLpolicies.html

Sample borrowing policies for patrons:

• University of Wisconsin-Stout: http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/services/ill25.htm
• Emory University: http://web.library.emory.edu/services/ill/index.html
• Multnomah County Library: http://www.multcolib.org/ref/ill/illpolicies.html
• Cincinnati Public Library: http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/services/ill.asp

Part 2: Decide on systems and workflow.

There are many options for managing traditional ILL, from paper files to homegrown systems to to fully integrated ILL management systems.

• Non-OCLC borrowers use ALA forms to request a loan from another library via mail, fax or e mail
• OCLC borrowers use WorldCat Resource Sharing online to place borrowing requests
• ILL management systems interface with OCLC to manage updates and track requests. Also maintains databases of information about patrons and lending libraries. ILLiad, Clio, Relais, RLG ILL Manager. Others? What about ones embedded in OPACs (III, others?)
• Electronic Document Delivery software enables your library to receive articles through FTP and post them to a web server to be accessed by patrons. Odyssey (as part of ILLiad or stand-alone), Ariel, Prospero (defunct?)

Once you have established policies and are familiar with the software and systems used for ILL borrowing, you are ready to accept patron requests.

Forward to Step 2: Patrons request.

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