A variety of factors can contribute to making the fulfillment of interlibrary loan requests problematic: incomplete and erroneous citations, excessive costs, and seemingly non-existent titles often conspire to frustrate our efforts to meet patrons’ needs. 

On the lending side, inaccurate holdings information, poor stacks management, and inadequate staff training can lead to fulfillment rates far below those of the department’s borrowing operation.

While some factors are beyond our control, we can take steps that will reduce the need to cancel requests. This session will review strategies for improving fill rates and handling hard to fill requests.

Attendees will learn about:

• Features in ILLiad and WorldShare that reduce the need to cancel requests
• Alternative systems that reduce mediation and free up staff time
• Creative ways to locate hard to find items – and potentially reduce costs