ILL Committee report on ILL alternatives—July 2012

1. Returnable Materials

a. Stay as is, utilizing OCLC WorldCat for resource sharing. We, the ILL committee, prefer this option and feel that full participation is key to its success. We do understand that OCLC is continuing to develop resource sharing with plans to end WorldCat Resource Sharing by December 2013 and fully implement WorldShare ILL

http://www.oclc.org/migrate-worldshare-ill/default.htm

b. FulfILLment (http://www.fulfillment-ill.org/about.php) – interlibrary lending open source software from Evergreen. A virtual union catalog that works with most ILS’s. This one looks promising, and Santa Cruz Public is trialing it.

c. Link + (http://csul.iii.com/screens/linkplusinfo.html) - A similar plan to FulfILLment, from Innovative interfaces, but already in place. Link + is “open to any library of a separately incorporated institution in California, or contiguous states, that has the Innovative Interface, Inc. integrated library system, or is willing to undertake the programming required to effectively interface with the LINK+ union catalog.” So this works best if you are already on Innovative, or if you have adequate tech support for adapting it to your system.

d. Universal cards that work throughout MOBAC.

e. WorldCat Direct (http://www.oclc.org/productworks/betterworldbook.htm) is partnered with Better World Books. One can borrow materials through OCLC and items come with the option to purchase or return. (OCLC Symbol QUICK). Items can be mailed directly to the patron. (NPS has used this service a bit). “The WorldCat Direct pilot program is an Interlibrary Loan service for libraries that want to offer direct delivery of books to their patrons, without the cost and staff time of traditional ILL. A book supplier mails books to patrons when requests come through WorldCat Resource Sharing or ILLiad, and patrons can either mail back the materials with a prepaid envelope, or they can buy loaned materials from the book supplier.” f. Buy the item, instead of borrowing. Libraries can purchase items through OCLC from Alibris (OCLC Symbol ALBRS). NPS occasionally uses this service when it makes more sense to purchase than to borrow. For more information see http://library.alibris.com/about/press-releases-2005-01-17

g. Print-on-demand. An Espresso BookMachine (http://www.ondemandbooks.com/) can be used to print books that are out of copyright. According to a recent article in The Monterey County Herald, the machines cost between $125,000 and $150,000. Due to cost and copyright problems, we do not consider this a viable alternative at this time.

h. Refer - www.W orldCat.org shows local library holdings.

2. Electronic only alternatives

a. Zip Books: Digital Library of Northern California- E-books get downloaded onto a Kindle. We know very little about this, but a presentation will be made at the upcoming CLA conference. “This project provides interlibrary loan via electronic books in order to create cost effective resource sharing in Northern California.” Seems of limited use.

b. Patron driven acquisition of e-books, using vendors such as eBook Library, MyiLibrary, and Ebrary.

c. Short-term loans of e-books, such as EBL’s short-time circulation model. - Electronic Book Library, or Ebrary’s short-term loan.

3. Articles only - Note: Statistically, 85% of MOBAC (within system) ILL is for books/returnable materials.

a. RapidILL (http://rapidill.org) - A consortial system in Colorado with 18 California libraries participating. Used for article requests.

b. WorldCat Knowledge Base http://www.oclc.org/knowledgebase/default.htm.

c. Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) has a "Get It Now" program (http://www.copyright.com/content/cc3/en/toolbar/productsAndSolutions/getitnow.ht ml) that has the option for the library or patron to pay.

d. Commercial services- document delivery suppliers. There is a list here:

http://library.med.utah.edu/docsupp/ Note: The majority of MOBAC ILL activity is Out of System. In FY 11 only 22% of returnable materials borrowed were provided through MOBAC; only 7% of copies/articles borrowed were provided through MOBAC.

July 2012