.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Barriers to International Lending: Aggravating Annoyances or Impossible Impediments? Mary E. Jackson Director of Collections & Access Programs Association of Research Libraries Washington, DC USA © 2003, Mary E. Jackson

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Overview of Presentation Identify 9 barriers to international lending Offer strategies to eliminate those barriers Speculate on the probability of removing those barriers

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Barrier: Discovering Material Not all items are cataloged Not all catalogs are online Not all catalogs are Z39.50 accessible Not all catalogs expose metadata Not all catalogs support UNICODE Don’t know where to begin searching

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES How to Overcome: Discovering Material Bookmark national and consortial catalogs, such as AMICUS, KINETICA, EUCAT, MELVYL Identify libraries with strong collections –AAU/ARL German Resources Project’s Partnerships List Ask a reference librarian for assistance

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Discovering Material Aggravating Annoyance

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Barrier: Determining Supplier IPIG ILL Policy Directory still in development Multiple, and incomplete, regional and national policy directories Library’s policy is in multiple directories Lending policies are outdated The “real” lending policy may vary

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES How to Overcome: Determining Supplier Maintain log of fill rate and speed of international lenders Collect policies and develop own policy directory Use libraries known to engage in international ILL

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Determining Supplier Aggravating Annoyance

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Barrier: Transmitting Requests ISO ILL Protocol is not universally implemented Some lenders unwilling to accept free-form requests Slowness and unreliability of surface post Lower priority given to mailed requests

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES How to Overcome: Transmitting Requests Implement and use ISO-ILL compliant ILL system Be willing to send and receive free form Fax, don’t mail, when paper request forms must be used

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Transmitting Requests Aggravating Annoyance

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Barrier: Delivering Material Ariel is not universal Some copyright laws prohibit electronic delivery Increasing pressure from commercial publishers to prohibit electronic delivery High cost of fast commercial surface delivery Slowness and unreliability of postal surface delivery

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES How to Overcome: Delivering Material Overcome “aquaphobia” (fear of sending ILL materials across oceans) Send material insured Wrap packages securely Purchase and use Ariel Post articles to local web site and send URL to borrower

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Delivering Material Aggravating Annoyance

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Barrier: Cost of Shipping Lender not willing to absorb cost of expedited shipping Some lenders not able to pay for any shipping Borrower not eager to pay for expedited shipping

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES How to Overcome: Cost of Shipping Build in cost of expedited shipping into loan fee Send material COD when possible Accept that high shipping fees are a part of international ILL activity

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Cost of Shipping Aggravating Annoyance

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Barrier: Paying ILL Fees Credit cards or Pay-Pal are not accepted by all libraries IFLA Voucher Scheme is not universally accepted IFLA Voucher Scheme is still print-based Bank fees for currency conversion High bank fee relative to ILL fee

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES How to Overcome: Paying ILL Fees Accept IFLA Vouchers Accept and use credit cards Use online Pay-Pal Use OCLC’s IFM Consider not charging international libraries

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Paying ILL Fees Aggravating Annoyance

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Barrier: Copyright/Licensing Copyright laws differ among countries Borrower and lender may each pay royalty fee Licenses may not permit filling international ILL requests, even if printing and mailing

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES How to Overcome: Copyright/Licensing Lobby to change/maintain copyright law that is supportive of library activity Be willing to interpret law liberally Review licenses to ensure ILL is permitted

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Copyright/Licensing Impossible Impediment (?)

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Barrier: Loosing Control “My books will be gone too long.” “The lender will not return my books.” “I have no control over the borrower.” Need for control gets stronger as the distance between libraries increases

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES How to Overcome: Loosing Control Track loss rate and compare with local circulation loss rate Track amount of time material is out of the library Start lending to a few trusted international libraries Change your attitude!

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Loosing Control Aggravating Annoyance

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Barrier: Willingness/Need “I don’t need to borrow outside my country, so I shouldn’t have to lend internationally.” “I’ve never heard of the borrowing library so I won’t fill their requests.” “Remember the Mexican scam in 1979?”

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES How to Overcome: Willingness/Need Review unfilled requests and search against one or two national catalogs Assume international ILL is the norm, not the exception View from perspective of optimizing services for your patrons and other patrons

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Willingness/Need Aggravating Annoyance

.org A SSOCIATION OF R ESEARCH L IBRARIES Any Questions or Comments? Mary E. Jackson Director of Collections & Access Programs Association of Research Libraries phone fax