Question from a community member:

I'm in an academic library, and our ILL borrowing numbers have been pretty low. I know this is partially due to lower enrollment over the past 18 months, but based on a recent library survey I also see that many students seem unaware of ILL. Do you have any advice or tips for marketing ILL? What has worked for you?

Our numbers are also much lower this year when compared to last year. One thing that will generate some requests is sending out a news blast to faculty and reminding them of ILL. This is especially helpful when they are between semesters and may adjust curriculum.

I experience this with the students in my library too! Just explaining "Interlibrary Loan" is a hard concept for students to grasp. I can't wait to  share what works for me throughout the years.  

Our academic library does not accept a print copy as a replacement for a lost or damaged items.  We also do not have a flat free to books.  Individual library policy plays into this too.  Were there added billing or processing fees added to the bill? Purchases through library vendors (like Baker & Taylor or Follett), which charge higher prices would be one reason that the cost is higher. Example: a patron damages a video and want to replace it by buying a copy at Walmart,  but the library can't accept that copy, because a library needs a video with proper copyright laws and licensing for their use. This isn't easy for a patron to understand and it's understandable that they are upset at the higher cost. The only thing I can think of is to contact the lending library and see if they are willing to waive some of the charges, if they aren't willing,  would your library consider being responsible for payment? Explaining vendor services and licensing laws to a patron isn't something they want to hear , but it all plays a part in the cost of buying a book. It's a hard lesson for a library patron to learn. Maybe others could add more to this conversation..... thoughts are welcome....

This is not uncommon, and when we train new frontline staff we always let them know that fees for lost/damaged ILLs may be surprisingly more than retail cost, and ask them to pass this information on to patrons making ILL requests (as well as "It could take 6 to 8 weeks to get your ILL" and "The lending libraries have their own renewal policies and may not approve due date extensions").

We do charge our patrons whatever we get charged except in cases of catastrophe like a house burning down or something, but I do know that often our patrons don't pay the replacement charge on their accounts and we end up "eating" the cost.

I couldn't remember if our library had anything on our website  about lost or damaged ILLs and who is responsible for payment. Here is what I found:" If an Interlibrary Loan item is lost or damaged patron will be responsible for any charges determined by the lending library". If your library doesn't have a statement on your library website about ILL charges, it might be a good idea to include that information. That way, if it happens again, you can reference the policy on your website.

Yes, we have something very similar on our website. We also note that we don't refund if the patron later finds the book and returns it (once we have already paid the lender). It seems to encourage patrons to look a bit more thoroughly.

Oh... I like that additional info. I will definitely add that to our current policy.

How do you request chapters from eBooks? I see a group of libraries that loan Whole eBooks, Is there a group of libraries that fill chapters of eBooks? I noticed that many people ask on the ILL Listserv requesting libraries to fill their eBook chapter formats?  

We fulfill and request eBook chapters just as we would physical book chapters, or electronic journal articles, through a copy request. We haven't had a problem sending those through Tipasa.

We have something similar to this. In our Policies, we state the patron is responsible for any charges set by the lending library. We also state that on our ILL page on our website. We also have a version of that on the band we wrap around borrowed ILLs. Doing all of that has cut down on the number of patrons upset that they are being charged more than what they see it for on Amazon. When I send an overdue letter I let them know once we receive an invoice, we pay it in 30 days. Once paid, we do not offer refunds and the patron is still responsible for the item even if it's found. We do make exceptions sometimes, like if the patron returns the item and we had just sent it up to our finance or county, we email the lending library to see if they've received payment yet. If not usually they're good about letting us return the item and sending the check back once received.