Hosts
Sue Pearson • Joe DeVillez • Chris Dawdy
Key: IHLS Library
Sue Pearson: Good afternoon & welcome!
Joe DeVillez: Good afternoon!
Kay Burrous South Macon: Good afternoon
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: good afternoon
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: You may not know the answer to this, but a while back we voted on Polaris enhancements. Have we heard what the results were?
Chris Dawdy: No.
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: Okay--thanks!
Chris Dawdy: According to the Polaris Users' Group website, the voting was to take place from October 15 through November 30, and there are no results given yet.
Chris Dawdy: Since there don't seem to be alot of questions or comments yet today, Esther (as chair of the Circulation and Resource Sharing Committee) and I would like to bring up a topic. We'd like to know your thoughts on starting a common loan rule group.
Stephanie Dennis: We have a new book that was cataloged in March, we sent it on loan in April and it has not been back home since. The last library that had it on hold was contacted and asked to return it as it was past the hold date then. That was the end of October first of November and we still don't have the book back. What is the policy for books to return to their home library?
Sue Pearson: Stephanie - is the book checked out?
Stephanie Dennis: Yes, due today and we have placed a hold on it.
Laura: Do an item specific request on your item to get it to come back to your library
Sue Pearson: That's what I was going to suggest.
Sue Pearson: Has it been at the same library all this time?
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: They should have sent it back when the hold expired, but that doesn't always happen. It may have been on hold for more than 1 person at that library too.
Stephanie Dennis: We did that and even called and talked to them and asked them to return the book since it was past the hold date
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: We have that issue with a handful of locations., but they don't check the book out. It usually has gone to either home bound patrons or staff members.
Stephanie Dennis: Should there be some type of policy to addres this issue. I really don't want to get bogged down in "policies" but this is frustrating!
Joe DeVillez: You might have to change your loan policy on new books where you don't make it holdable outside your library for a certain amount of time
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: This is covered by the ILLINET loan code. Libraries are supposed to honor your loaning rules and requests for return.
Stephanie Dennis: But they should have honored our request to return it after the phone call.
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: The handful of locations where this is a regular occurence, they pay no attention to anyone's due dates and do as they wish. no matter how many times you call them or even send bills.
Joe DeVillez: These types of occurences are unfortunate because then you feel like you don't want to lend certain items out anymore
Yvonne Williams West Sangamon Public Library: We have a policy that new items are held at our library for 3 months before they are released to fill holds at other libraries. That way our own patrons have access to them first.
Jan - Breese P.L.: I would probably just deny requests for that library.
Yvonne Williams West Sangamon Public Library: I would too.
Joe DeVillez: I think Yvonne's suggestion is a good way to combat this problem because of how long new books get loaned out once they are available
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: We do the same thing--Items are "new" for 3 months for local hold only, then open to the rest of SHARE & OCLC
Sue Pearson: It sounds like this library could use a refresher on the procedure for receiving outside requests. Maybe a gentle reminder from Chris or Traci.
Kathy Goleman Divernon Township Library: Divernon also holds our new holding for 3 months. We are very small and we like our patrons to have them first
Stephanie Dennis: Is there a way to provide a safety net that after a certain period of time (4 months or so) that the item automaticly is returned to its home library upon checkin?
Sue Pearson: There isn't anything like that built into Polaris.
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: Just put holds on those items so they come back home.
Chris Dawdy: Sue, that's what I was thinking about, too. For everyone, if you need for SHARE staff to intervene on your behalf, we will be happy to do so.
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: Can we start dening requests for those locations that ignore our holds and policies?
Stephanie Dennis: We have put holds on them and they still go on somewhere else even after phone calls
Chris Dawdy: The SHARE Circulation and Resource Sharing Committee has started talking about potential consequences for not following the resource sharing policies, and would be happy to have your input, right, Esther?
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: Or report them and have them in some type of probation or something.
Sue Pearson: Stephanie - if that's the case then you should report this to Traci because Polaris is supposed to fill local holds first.
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: And make sure that you are placing an item specific hold.
Stephanie Dennis: Thanks we will contact Traci.
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: I think that many libraries don't know or understand the ILLINET loan code. The SHARE Circ policy doesn't (currently) include those items, but Chris & the other Circ specialists are working on integrating those documents. I hope that will help in the future.
Stephanie Dennis: Thanks for the input.
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: Chris--do you want to talk about the Common loan rule group now.
Chris Dawdy: Sure! We asked you all to complete a survey about loan rules sometime last spring. As part of that survey, we asked how many libraries would be interested in participating in a common loan rule group, to help reduce the number of loan rules patrons have to follow. Almost 200 libraries expressed an interest at that time.
Chris Dawdy: We've finally had time to start looking at the issue again, so I included information from the survey and data from Polaris on the most common loan rules in the last SHARE Newsletter, and again asked if anyone was interested in participating.
Chris Dawdy: The next step will be to get all those libraries together (probably electronically) to hammer out the preferred loan periods, and then we can change loan rules in Polaris for those libraries who choose to participate.
Chris Dawdy: Participation in a common loan rule group would be voluntary--the number of days you check out a book to your patrons is a matter of individual library choice, based on the needs and interests of your patrons.
Chris Dawdy: The general idea, though, of forming a common loan rule group is to reduce the number of loan rules that patrons have to deal with.
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: And this would only address the loan period--not the number of renewals.
Virginia GECS: Have you thopught about just offering the two most common loan periods: 14 days for books, 7 days for media, and then ask libraries to change their loan periods to that period. Select a deadline to evaluation of howmany have joined the common loan periods.
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: Virginia--It may come to that, but library boards still have to vote to make the changes. That is what will take the most time. We still have to agree on what is "common".
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: For media there is a split by library type between 7 & 14 days. So it's not cut & dry.
Jim at Tri-Township Library: Those were our rules in the past, but we found 3 weeks works better for our partrons for books and video series with a whole season's worth of episodes. One week is good for movies, single session documentaries, music and magazines. Everyone has differing views on this.
Marsha @ A-H: Will a common loan rule group limit the libraries you can borrow from?
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: no
Chris Dawdy: Someone asked me recently if libraries following the common loan rule could be the first group Polaris checks when filling holds. Traci's response to that is that it could be done by hub, but not as a whole. In other words, if we had a number of libraries participating in the common loan rule group, but they were spread out all over IHLS, it would actually take longer to fill a hold, since the item would probably have to take the time to move from hub to hub.
Jan - Breese P.L.: We really cut down on the number of overdues when we switched to 3 week loan period for our books.
Sue Pearson: What will take the most time is actually making the changes. There are 4,095 lines in each library's loan rule table.
Jim at Tri-Township Library: Perhaps instead of gathering a group of libraries who agree to the same rules, could we consider creating a group of libraries that would agree to have their items checked out using the lending library's loan rules?
Laura: We also have a 3 week loan period for almost everything and it does cut down on overdues and bills
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: Libraries can also choose what materials they want to have in the common loan group. If it is 14 days for books and 7 days for DVD, then I would only do books because all of our items circ for 14 days.
Kathy Goleman Divernon Township Library: We have 14 day loan period for everything.
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: if each library has developed their rules based on their patron use, what about the locations that may have a very short turnaround because of their patron base. could that mean more libraries may have more lost items?
Chris Dawdy: I guess that's possible, April. Or lots of overdue fines paid.
Virginia GECS: Jim. statewide Interlibrary code says loan period has to be the owning library loan period.
Pam - West Frankfort Public: We have a 14 day loan period on all of our items also. I have never had a complaint from any of our patrons about different loan periods from other libraries. They are happy to be able to borrow the item and are glad to go by the lending libraries rules.
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: our patrons are the same as Pam's. They are happy with various dates and happy to have them. it seems it is only the dvds for only one or two days that is the issue.
Candace Hancock - FREP: Pam and April: Our patrons are thankful as well; except the two day dvds:(
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: That's true for us too. The various dates are ok, but 2 days to watch a video doesn't work for some.
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: It may be a double edged sword either way we go. what if we just look at the dvd due dates first before tackling everything.
Laura: Especially the series.
Virginia GECS: I think loan periods for books will be easier to agree upon.
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: can we change dvd series to choose from 7 or 14 days.
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: that would be too easy never mind
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: I agree--I think books (other materials that aren't DVDs) can be agreed on faster. Then we can tackle the other.
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: but if we are ok with various books with different dates, why change that.
Sue Pearson: From what I hear from libraries - book loan periods aren't really the issue.
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: i agree lets leave that alone.
janeth: I agree. Book loan periods are not the issue.
Laura: Agreed, our patrons only complain about the short due dates on dvds
Joe DeVillez: It's the 30 hour DVD series that they expect you to return within 2 days
Stephanie Dennis: Why can't we just respect each others loan periods and leave it at that? (except for Dvd series )
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: April--years ago we change are loan periods so that they would be 14 days so that it wouldn't be confusing for patrons. We do renewals on some materials and don't on other (i.e. DVDs)
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: can we make a collection type of dvd television series and dvd movie
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: I do think it would help if DVD sets/TV series need a longer loan period. But then again, we loan DVDs for 14 days. :)
Pam - West Frankfort Public: It would be great if we could somehow see the loan period of an item before it it ordered. That way we/ the patron could order the item with the loan period that suits the patron or they would know ahead of time if the loan would be a short one.
Stephanie Dennis: Pam, that makes sense.
Sue Pearson: There's already a material type called DVD-Multipart which could have a different loan period than material type DVD.
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: wouldn't that work? dvd multipart could pick between 7 - 14 days or more and the other can choose what they normally would.
bernadette: At Hayner , our inital loan period is 14 days but we allow two renewals on our materials only. We do not over-ride other libraries policies on renewals. Our DVDs check out for 7 days and we allow one renewal. Our overdue fines are $.10 per day for all items.
Amanda Endicott @ Edwardsville Public Library: We use DVD, Entertainment for our Series collection type since something more specific isn't available.
Laura: I agree with Pam. If we could see the loan period we could make an informed choice.
Sue Pearson: Loan periods are set up by material type not by collection. You can assign whatever collection you want but it won't control the loan period.
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: can we add a matieral type?
Sue Pearson: Well, there are many opinions on this topic and we're at the end of the chat hour.
Sue Pearson: Any last comments.
Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: April--you can contact Bib Services (I think) and ask
April Jensen Lincoln Public Library: ok. when is the next circuation forum?
Sue Pearson: The next circ forum is January 26th. We haven't set a location yet. We'll probably decide upon that the first of the yeart.
caseyville: Thank You,,,
Jan - Breese P.L.: Happy Holidays! Everyone
Sue Pearson: You all have a wonderful holiday!
Joe DeVillez: Happy Holidays!
Stephanie Dennis: Merry Christmas everyone!
Candace Hancock - FREP: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year:)
bernadette: Have a great holiday and thank you to IHLS and SHARE for your support
Kay Burrous South Macon: Merry and Happy!