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Fees coming to Interlibrary Loan services If you use Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library’s Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service, expect to pay $1 for each filled request beginning Oct. 1, 2009. The $1 fee is approximately how much it costs the library to ship an item borrowed from another library. In the past, the library has absorbed that cost. If you use Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library’s Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service, expect to pay $1 for each filled request beginning Oct. 1, 2009. The $1 fee is approximately how much it costs the library to ship an item borrowed from another library. In the past, the library has absorbed that cost. The popularity of the service is one reason the library adopted the new user fee. In July 2009, Interlibrary Loan customers borrowed 634 items, more than twice as many items as were borrowed three years earlier in July 2006, according to statistics provided by Carrie Cummings, Interlibrary Loan Specialist. If no lender is located for the requested item, the customer will not be charged. Late fees of $1 per day will also apply to ILL materials returned after the due date, with a max fee of $10 before a block is placed on the cardholder’s account. A bookmark will be placed in every borrowed item to alert Interlibrary Loan borrowers of the upcoming changes. Collections Manager Paul Brennan says he hopes the usage fees won’t pose a barrier to Interlibrary Loan customers or potential customers. “When you are looking for materials that may be of limited local interest, no longer in print, or no longer available for purchase, Interlibrary Loan provides valuable access to holdings of other libraries in this country and around the world,” Brennan said. “We hope this service continues to grow despite the new fees.” The library does not Interlibrary Loan items that we already own in our own collection. When the customer requests an item that we don’t own, the library has two options, said Daniel Fogt, Interlibrary Loan Specialist. “One, we purchase the item and add it to our collection. Two, we see if another library would be willing to lend it to us,” he said. To learn more about Interlibrary Loan, visit http://www.tscpl.org/ill. There you can search the database of other library collections and place a request, or login to check the status of your requests or to renew an item.   http://www.tscpl.org/about/comments/fees_coming_to_interlibrary_loan_services/