Coughing up Coffman

[Jeanne Heicher]

	In regard to Michael Sauers' post, our library is small, and located
in a rural area. We go to any length to get books and/or other
materials that patrons request. Our ILL activity is a significant part
of our circulation. We ALWAYS suggest ILL whenever a patron
needs/would like materials that are not located in our holdings. It
has always been my understanding that this is an integral part of
customer service. Besides that, staff routinely lend books from home,
as they can be circulated for a longer period of time than a standard
ILL. This has resulted in great patron relations, and greater private
community support for our library, as well the formation of many close
friendships. And we have never had a personally owned book kept
overdue. 
	I think that the importance given to ILL is in inverse proportion to
the size of the collection; the larger, better funded libraries tend
to think less of using the ILL service than the smaller ones who
really depend upon it to flesh out their collections. I guess it is
chiefly a matter of economics. 
			Jeanne Heicher

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