How is everything going?
- One library recently had a request for hymn books from the Organ Historical Museum in PA. This was the first foray into using a public system for an ILL request!
- New MHLS policy: if the item is under $25 on Amazon, it can be requested if owned by a library that uses Empire Library Delivery.
- Another library mentioned they once had a request for sheet music.
- It is always interesting to see what comes in!
- People don’t always know about SEAL or ILL; it is often up to the front desk staff member to inform them of those options.
If you receive a scan from another library that is messy (crooked, large gutters, etc.), how much time will you spend fixing it?
- It depends on the patron. If they don’t have technical skills, they might not be able to do things like rotate a scan or crop a PDF. It would be a judgement call.
- Scanning can be very challenging! It’s especially hard if you have a tightly bound journal or book.
- Some libraries might not have dedicated scanners – they might be using copy machines instead.
If you receive a lot of article requests from someone that are open access, would you just get the materials for them or teach them how to do it?
- It depends on the patron! Some don’t have the technical capabilities (or the desire) to learn how to use databases.
- Overall, though, it is better to teach them if you can.
- You have to determine how much time you can spend working with someone to teach them.
Are your ILL numbers down?
- There haven’t been a lot of questions recently about articles or databases. Average about 3 SEAL requests a month.
- Other attendees reported that they have seen a lot of requests recently.
- One organization graphed data back to 2023 and this year has been the highest in terms of items requested.
- An increase in the amount of ILL requests might be due to changed policies and recent webinars.
There have been reports in the ILL world that some people are requesting citations for items that don’t actually exist due to AI hallucinations. Have you experienced this? Does your library have any policies about AI?
- No policies on AI, but negative strong feelings!
- One library recently used an AI generated image on their social media and received a lot of negative comments.
- Hoopla has pushed back about allowing AI generated books on their website.
- There is a current issue on Amazon where AI generated books are being published that try to imitate a popular book. You have to be really careful to select the correct book!
- Another example: over the summer a major newspaper put out an article on summer reading that recommended books that don’t exist.
- You always have to be on the lookout for AI generated materials, especially on social media. Because of it you have to be skeptical about everything you see, even things that might bring you joy (like the bunnies on the trampoline!)
- People need to learn how to use AI responsibly. If you use good keywords and have decent search skills, you should be able to use AI to get decent results.
- Younger generations seem to spot AI very easily and tend to have negative opinions on it.
- For information professionals, there are going to be a lot of challenges navigating this moving forward.
Are there any initiatives / projects at your library that you’re excited about?
- One library had social work interns at their library. They also had the Mexican consulate come to help people with passports.
- One library has been able to get out into the community recently and attend local events.
- MHLS and RCLS both did road trips for their systems. These were very popular!
- Planning a book sale!
- An art exhibit on Paul Gould, who painted a lot of Hudson Valley Revolutionary War paintings.
How do you deal with challenging ILL requests?
- ILL basically has two categories: you can find it or you can’t.
- You have to decide how far you are willing to go once you’ve exhausted your regular resources.
- Authors can be a really good resource! They are usually willing to send articles. A lot of times you can find their contact information on the article webpage. (This works best with newer articles.)
What are some current challenges in ILL?
- Costs! Library admin are really stressing about the budget right now. ILL can be pretty expensive.
- International items: it has been more challenging to get things out of the country. You have to take a bit of a chance because you don’t know how the tariffs will impact things.
- Tariffs are affecting the books that are being loaned, and no one knows how to deal with them. It used to be a non-issue because they were covered through the de minimis exception.
- A lot of people don’t know what to do – they have just stopped shipping things.
- The library catalog doesn’t always reflect the true cost of an item. There have been instances where an item was worth a lot of money (thousands of dollars) and it was lost in ILL.
Next Meeting:
Tentatively will be held in March at Newburgh Free Library
Possible meeting topic: searching historical newspaper databases (HRVH, NY Newspapers, Chroncling America)