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Duplicates (What to do when you receive duplicate copies of a requested item.)

Genealogical material from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Items requested in WorldCat that never arrive

Lost Items in LINKcat

"Need by" dates

NonLINK libraries--Monitor your LINK account!

Requesting Reference items

"Too New"

Trace Items in LINKcat

What to do when you receive duplicate copies of a requested item:

• If the duplicate item is from a Wisconsin library, return the item to the lending library via SCLS Delivery, with the original paperwork included. 
• If the duplicate item is from a MINITEX library that is on the MINITEX delivery list, return it to the lending library via SCLS Delivery, with the original paperwork included. 
• If the duplicate item is from an out-of-state library that is not a MINITEX library, and you do not want to pay postage costs, send the item via SCLS Delivery to Madison Public Library Interlibrary Loan Department, with the original paperwork included.  Include a note on the paperwork that the item is a duplicate, and you would like it returned to the owning library. 

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Genealogical material from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA):

"The National Archives & Records Administration (NARA) is a very useful resource for patrons wanting genealogical materials and libraries that want to help their patrons obtain them.  The following web sites provide just a few links to help patrons on their way to discovering the wonders found there.  Patrons may use the National Archives themselves if the item they have requested through interlibrary loan is not available and happens to be owned there.  There are charges for some services offered by the National Archives, but since patrons may access the site themselves their library does not have to be involved.  Remember, public libraries may NOT charge their patrons for interlibrary loan.
 
The National Archives has published and is offering free of charge some finding aids for using their vast collections of materials.  You can view a list of these aids at http://www.archives.gov/publications/genealogy/free.html .  Information about how to borrow NARA materials is found at http://www.archives.gov/faqs/#borrowing .  Topics are listed alphabetically with separate headings including Census, Genealogy, Photocopying, and Fees.  For information about how to order frequently-requested family history records: http://www.archives.gov/research/order/index.html .
 
For more information about NARA, go to their web site at http://www.archives.gov "

--thanks to Terry Wilcox, Reference and Loan Library, for this tip. 

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Items requested in WorldCat that never arrive:

• What to do if your requested item does not arrive and/or you do not receive an [UNFILLED] response:

• If you have not received an ILL item within 8 weeks and have not received any information regarding it, email Madison ILL at interloan@scls.lib.wi.us.  Please don't email sooner—some items take this long to arrive.
• In your email, include:
  • Request ID#
  • a short note specifying that the item has not arrived
  • the date the item was requested
  • if the Request ID# number is not available, include title, author, format, patron name and ID and any special notes.
• Madison ILL will notify the owning library that the item was never received.  In most cases they will start a new request for the item.   A phone call asking the library to send the item is often unproductive.   A new electronic request allows the item to be traced more easily and serves as a reminder to the loaning library that action needs to be taken on the item.
  
  
• What to do if your request is updated to Received, but you never receive it:
  
  
  • Items in your “My Requests” list marked “Shipped” are automatically updated to “Received” by Madison ILL staff.  If items have this status and have not arrived within 8 weeks follow the same procedure listed above for items that never arrive.
    
    
• What to do if your request drops off your “My Requests” list, but you never receive it.
  
  
  • If the item no longer appears on your list and you have never received it contact Madison ILL at interloan@scls.lib.wi.us.   After investigation, a new request can usually be sent if your patron still needs the item.

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What to do when an item is indicated as "Lost" in LINKcat

When you find the item in LINKcat, but the only copy (or all copies) in LINKcat displays the status "Lost," go ahead and place a request in OCLC WorldCat.  Put a note in the Notes field, for example:  "The only copy in LINKcat is Lost."

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"Need by" dates:

Many library patrons (and sometimes library staff) think that when they request an item through interlibrary loan channels, if they say they need it by a certain date, it will somehow come sooner.   Please remember, and help your staff, colleagues, and patrons understand, that this is NOT the case. In fact, it can have just the opposite effect.

To determine if a patron truly has a "Need by" date, and if so, what it is, you might try asking "What is the latest possible date this material will be useful to you?" That date, if any, is the "need by" date. If they want the material no matter how long it takes, leave "Date Needed" BLANK!

Why?  If you enter a date in the Date Needed field, it means that you need it by that date, and after that date you no longer want it. If no library can fill it by that date, it will probably be cancelled. Libraries don't work on requests with a "need by" date sooner than requests without a "need by" date, so leaving "Date Needed" blank does not have any negative effect.

One more thing: If the "need by" date is TOO soon, you likely won't get it, no matter what date you enter! Anything with a "need by" date of a week or less is too short. Two weeks may also be too short, but may be possible.

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NonLINK libraries--Monitor your LINK account!

If you are a nonLINK library, you have a LINK patron account for your library, so that you may place holds for your patrons on items that your library doesn't own, that are in LINKcat.  See "Using LINKcat (for nonLINK libraries.)" [password required]

It is very important that you:

• monitor your library's LINK account every day.
• return items borrowed from LINK libraries by the due date.
• renew items, if your patrons need them longer.
• if items become overdue, retrieve them from your patron and return them.
• reimburse owning libraries when items become lost.

It is very important that you contact the owning library, or Madison Public Library, at 608-266-6357, when:

• an item is checked out to your library but you don't receive it.
• you return an item, but it remains checked out to you.
• you are unable to renew an item. 

• you receive an item in Delivery that you have requested, but it is not checked out to you. 

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Requesting Reference items

Do not request items cataloged as Reference that are owned by SCLS public libraries through Interlibrary Loan.  You can contact the owning SCLS library to see if they will photocopy a particular section for you. If you feel you have a special case and/or know of a library outside the system that circulates the item, send the request on WorldCat only if you have photocopy information (if patron doesn't know what they want, ask for a photocopy of table of contents or index. Please remember to tell your patron that 30 pages is the maximum that can be photocopied.)

"Too New"

Items that are less than 4 months old, as determined by the publication date on Amazon.com, are too new to request through interlibrary loan.

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What to do when an Item is indicated as "Trace" in LINKCat

When you find an item in LINKcat, but the only copy in LINKcat displays the status "Trace," go ahead and place a request in OCLC WorldCat, but you may want to contact the owning library first.  They may find it by checking their shelves.  If you do contact the owning library, and they cannot find it, go ahead and request in OCLC WorldCat, but put a note in the Notes field, for example:  "The only copy of this in LINKcat is Trace.  I contacted [name of owning library] and they can't find it."

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For more information about Interlibrary Loan, contact Cheryl Becker.

For information about using WorldCat to place requests for your patrons, or to check on the status of WorldCat requests you have placed, contact Madison Interloan by email.

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