Original Question (9/12/11):

Stephanie Taylor (AL)

I have a question about elements 552 and 553, the Inter-Library Loan questions. In Alabama, some of our libraries are in systems. The libraries within a system are called member libraries. Each member library has its own director and board, but they receive their state aid from the system headquarters. There has been conflict on how they report inter-library loans. Should they report loans between other member libraries in the system as well as loans between libraries outside of the system? I know branch loans should not be counted, but what about these member to member loans?

Thanks!
 

SDC Comments:

Bruce Pomerantz (MN)

Count the member to member interlibrary loans within the systems.

The source of the funds is immaterial. The libraries are separate in governance and therefore are separate administrative entities. Otherwise, all the data, not just ILL, would be reported as one administrative system

Ann Reed (OR)

We have federations and cooperatives. The libraries all have their own directors and boards, and are legally established as city libraries. So they count loans among themselves as ILL, even if its patron initiated.

Due to a past history of net lender reimbursement, at the state level we break ILL incoming and outgoing into two parts – ILL within the library’s shared automated system, and ILL to libraries outside the library’s shared automated system.  I won’t bore people with the details on why we did it that way.