Fun facts: Interlibrary Loan

Gustavus relies on the generosity of other libraries to sustain faculty and student research through Interlibrary Loan. Likewise, we share our collection with those same libraries for their faculty and student research. We participate in a regional sharing network to meet most of those needs, but we also borrow and lend nationwide.

What kinds of unique materials do we provide on a national level? Still in first place as the book we lend the most, The Redeemer by Jo Nesbø has circulated to seven different libraries in six different states since last January. It's been to Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Texas and Arizona.

When it comes to journals, the title we copy and supply articles from most often is Food, Culture and Society (ISSN 1552-8014). We provided copies to nineteen different states in the last year alone!

Since January 2011, Gustavus materials were used in 47 of the 50 states across the nation. Only Delaware, Hawaii and Vermont were not recipients of our materials. To think of it another way, you have access to nearly every library in the nation because we share our materials!

As always, if you have a question about how Interlibrary Loan can assist your research (or help you get your hands on that book you've been dying to read), contact us!

Interlibrary Loan delays

We've watched out the windows of the library with fascination as the new academic building has gone through each phase of construction. As it nears completion and work on the West Mall begins, we're excited about the changes occurring in our section of campus.

The progress being made on these projects means vehicle access to the library building will be temporarily restricted on Campus Center Drive. Since Chapel Drive is also closed for construction, our interlibrary loan courier vans will need to suspend deliveries for the time being while these projects are advanced.

If you're expecting an interlibrary loan book or other physical item, there's a good chance it will be delayed in arriving at Gustavus. (Articles and copies that arrive electronically will not be affected.) If you have specific questions or concerns, please contact Sonja at the library. Thanks for your patience!

A Message from Minitex

You may be reading the news about a possible state government shutdown and its potential impact on public universities.This message from Minitex is reassuring for our summer research - at least for now.

The University of Minnesota has announced that it would be able to sustain operations for a period of time that is yet to be determined if a state government shutdown begins on July 1, 2011. Minitex is part of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Libraries and will also sustain operations depending upon the length of the shutdown. We also anticipate that the MnLINK Gateway will continue to be operational. We will continue to provide services and maintain staff during this period, and we are very hopeful that any shutdown will be brief.

We will try to keep the Minitex Delivery System operational since it delivers needed resources to people and links with many local libraries in the three-state region. We will also plan on continuing to fill requests from the University Libraries and refer requests to other libraries as appropriate.

Thank you, Minitex!

Interlibrary Loan over the Holiday Break

Interlibrary loan requests submitted over the holiday break (December 21, 2010 - January 2, 2011) will not be processed until Monday, January, 3, 2011.

Please plan accordingly; you can contact the ILL department with questions or concerns. Enjoy your break!

Fun facts: Interlibrary loan

Although you may have been the grateful recipient of an obscure dissertation borrowed through ILL from a library across the nation, you probably don't think about the lending side of ILL. What kinds of materials are being requested by other libraries from the Gustavus collection?

Our Scandinavian crime fiction has been enormously popular. Here's an example.

The Redeemer by Jo Nesbø has been in the Gustavus collection since April 2009. To date, it has circulated 13 times. Seven of those circulations have been to libraries out of state. The Redeemer has traveled to Wyoming, Vermont, Texas, New York, Maryland and was sent twice to Oregon.

In addition, between May 2009 and September 2010, we had to say "no" to thirty-four requests for this title from out-of-state libraries because it was already checked out!

As always, our interlibrary loan privileges with other institutions are dependent on "good behavior." Help us return material in a timely manner so we don't jeopardize those privileges. Questions? See the ILL page of the library website.

Possible Interlibrary Loan delays

The interlibrary loan office will be operating with minimal student staffing June 8 - June 13, 2010. You may experience some minor delays on requests submitted during this period.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Sonja as soon as possible. Thanks!

Interlibrary Loan delays.

Interlibrary loan requests submitted over the holiday break (effectively December 23, 2009 - January 3, 2010) will not be processed until Monday, January 4, 2010.

Please plan accordingly. If you have questions or concerns, feel free to email me.

You can always find answers to FAQs on the ILL homepage.

ILL service briefly interrupted

Due to another software update in our library catalog, interlibrary loan service will be briefly interrupted over the weekend. From 5pm on Friday, August 28 through 8am on Monday, August 31, the normal methods for ILL requests won't be available.

You can use this form to request books or articles instead.

Questions? Email us.

Interlibrary Loan changes

Beginning August 1 the Library will be deleting any Interlibrary Loan records that have a terminal status (closed, canceled, expired or deleted). Purging them has many benefits, most importantly helping us protect your privacy.

If you use your ILL borrowing record to keep track of resources you’ve used, please take steps to copy and paste that information to a safe place. Your borrowing history will then be limited to active records – things you currently have checked out, are waiting for and/or have recently returned.

You can access your borrowing record from the Library's homepage or here: http://gustavus.edu/academics/library/search/borrecord.html

After August 1, any ILL records with a terminal status will also be removed from the ILL Total Requests (eliminating that pesky message about exceeding your ILL limit!)

Questions? Call ILL at x7564.

Software upgrade during spring break

The library will be undergoing a software upgrade this weekend (March 21-22). Although those of you preparing for a spring break in warmer climes won't care, others may notice a few glitches when using the library catalog or other online resources.

Specifically, our usual interlibrary loan forms and methods won't be available while we upgrade. In the meantime, you can use this form to request books or articles.

Interlibrary Loan delays

Interlibrary loan requests submitted over the holiday break (effectively December 19, 2008 - January 4, 2009) will not be processed until Monday, January 5, 2009.

Please plan accordingly for delays. If you have questions or concerns about possible delays, please contact the library or email Sonja Timmerman.

Have general questions about ILL? Check out the updated ILL page on the library website.