SC - cheese

[rcmann4@earthlink.net]

And it came to pass on 7 Mar 01, , that Stefan li Rous wrote:

> OCLC??? RLIN??? Awk!!
> 
> If one of the many librarians on this list would be willing to write
> a short overview article on using ILL (Inter-Library Loan) to do research,
> or how to use library resources in general for this, I'd like to have
> such an article for the Florilegium.

I am not offering to write an article, and I'm not sure if I'm really 
qualified to do so.  I don't work in a university library, as some of 
my colleagues on the list do.  I don't have access to OCLC or 
RLIN, which are databases of the holdings of academic and major 
public libraries.  I am a reference librarian in a medium-sized 
suburban public library.  As such, I am probably typical of the 
librarians that SCAdian researchers are likely to deal with, if they 
don't have easy access to a university library.

Here are a few tips.  I am going to assume that you already have a 
specific book in mind.  (Identifying specific titles in one's area of 
interest is a whole article unto itself.)

1. Ask if your library has the book that you want.  You might be 
pleasantly surprised.

2. Ask for an inter-library loan.  If the answer to question #1 is "no", 
librarians will not always offer an ILL, even if one is possible.  
Depending on the library, that may mean dealing with the same 
librarian, or going upstairs to the ILL department, or coming back 
on Thursday, because Mrs. Doe is the only person who knows how 
to do ILL.

3. Give as much information as possible about the book -- author, 
title, publication date.  The ISBN (if any) is usually helpful.

4. If you need a particular edition/translation/volume, say so.  If you 
only want the Flower and Rosenbaum translation of Apicius, tell 
the librarian.  Otherwise, you may wind up with Vehling, or a copy 
of the untranslated Latin text.  If you care about format, say so.  
Will a photocopy of pp. 27-35 do, or do you need the whole book?  
What about microfilm?

5. Ask about borrowing fees.  Sometimes there is one, sometimes 
there isn't.  You may be asked to specify a fee limit.

6. Be prepared to wait.  An ILL request may take several weeks to 
produce results.  Remember that your local librarian cannot make 
the book arrive any sooner.  Once he/she has sent in the request, 
it is out of his/her hands.

7. Be aware that the loan period is set by the lending library.  Two 
weeks may not be long enough to study "The History of Pre-
Modern Ruritania", but complaining to your local librarian won't 
help.  You can ask about renewals, but don't be surprised if the 
answer is "no".  Or, as I sometimes tell patrons when they 
complain, "Their book, their rules."

8. When the book arrives, treat it with care and respect, and be 
sure to return it promptly and in good condition.  "Lost book" fees 
for out-of-print titles can be astronomical.  Repeated problems may 
cause your local library to cut off your ILL privileges.  Repeated 
problems may cause a research library to cut off your local 
*library's* ILL privileges.  ILL is a system of organized cooperation, 
and if a certain library feels that the system is being abused, it can 
tighten the restrictions on what it will loan, and to whom.

9. Be nice to your local librarian.  Theoretically, every patron gets 
the same level of service.  In practice, librarians are human beings, 
and are likely to go a little further for people who treat them nicely.  
Joe Grumpy will get the ILL he asks for.  Jane Smiley will get her 
ILL, but may also get unsolicited recommendations on other useful 
books, or an offer to search a relevant database for more 
information.

> Stefan, a librarian????

Why not?  Seems to me that you have many of the qualities of a 
good librarian.


Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
mka Robin Carroll-Mann
now at a new address: rcmann4 at earthlink.net