Wouldn't you like to hear some good news for a change? Well, here it is: beginning next week, Monday, October 4, 2010, our regular interlibrary van delivery service will resume! We know how much you loved being able to place holds on items located at our neighboring libraries but due to budget constraints, we had to discontinue that service for a few months. Now, thanks to a grant from the Library Services and Technology Act (federal funding), van delivery service is being covered through the end of 2010. We are pleased to add that we've provided funding to continue van delivery within our 2011 budget as well.Is this news to you? A quick overview: when you search our Library Catalog for books, DVDs, CDs and other items, you also have the option of searching 24 other libraries within our shared consortium. If you find an item you'd really like to borrow but we don't own it in our collections: click the blue "Place Hold" button, type in your library card number and password and one of our neighbor libraries will send that item to Des Plaines for you to borrow (when it becomes available, of course). It's a terrific system of resource-sharing that saves everyone money and time. We heard you loud and clear that you were disappointed when van delivery ceased so we hope you are pleased with this change of plans.Questions? Email us or stop by any of our service desks - we're happy to help.
The photo above, by the way, is not our van delivery person but Joel Sawyer, one of our Readers' Services Assistants and a great coworker. I thought he at least visually expressed the concept of delivery + van. In this photo, he is preparing to stock up our borrowing collections in local assisted living centers.
This is great! Interlibrary sharing expands the number of available titles tremendously in an extremely cost-effective way. Just imagine how much money this saves the library by not purchasing every obscure book or movie the library clientele might want. By increasing the number of times each book gets read and each movie gets watched, this sharing program maximizes the benefit from every purchase made in the cooperative library system. Investing in the van delivery program is therefore one of the most fiscally responsible ways the library can serve the citizens of Des Plaines.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to the hard-working library staff who won the federal funding that keeps interlibrary van delivery alive!
Thanks, Josh. We couldn't say it better ourselves - resource sharing is the way 21st century libraries will provide the biggest variety of materials to patrons in a fiscally responsible way. We are delighted that you agree.
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you, thank you! My family is so grateful for this service.
ReplyDeleteThat is good news!
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