Sno-Isle Libraries customers who want an item that isn’t in the library collection have new ways to make a request with Suggest a Purchase and Interlibrary Loan.
The switch comes with improved customer security, ease of use, and full integration with BiblioCommons, the same vendor whose software now supports all functions on the Sno-Isle Libraries website. Sno-Isle Libraries believes the new service will attract a wider range of customers to suggest requests for purchases.
Suggest a Purchase
Customers looking for more in their Sno-Isle Libraries online catalog can use Suggest a Purchase.
Suggest a Purchase requests can be made for books, large-print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD, and graphic novels.
Customers can submit up to 10 requests for materials per month. Sno-Isle Libraries collection librarians will review all suggestions. Customers can check the status of their suggestions from the My Library Dashboard page of their Sno-Isle Libraries account.
“Suggest a Purchase means customers can make more impactful recommendations to add to the collection,” said Grant Perrigo, Collections Maintenance Librarian for Sno-Isle Libraries.
If the customer’s suggestion is approved, the item will be added to the Sno-Isle Libraries catalog within one month. Customers will need to monitor the catalog to see when the title appears and place a hold.
For e-book and e-audiobook suggestions, customers can make separate recommendations through OverDrive.
Interlibrary Loan
For items that aren’t available for purchase, Interlibrary Loan fills customers’ needs. Those include out-of-print and older titles, magazine and newspaper articles, microfilm, and scholarly research papers. Materials are obtained from cooperating libraries across North America.
Customers can have up to five active Interlibrary Loan requests at a time.
“Our goal is to have a book arrive for our customers within two to four weeks,” said Jim McCluskey, Cataloging and Acquisitions Manager for Sno-Isle Libraries. “Sometimes it may take longer depending on if there are copies available from other library systems.”
Customers are expected to take good care of Interlibrary Loan materials.
“We’re borrowing items from other libraries who voluntarily loan them to us to provide access to books we don’t own,” McCluskey said. “In order to continue this special service, we need to return these items within a reasonable amount of time to maintain good relationships with our partner library systems and continue to provide this service in the future.”
