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- Posting-date: 10 Sep 1992 11:55:00 -0400 (EDT)
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- Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 11:25:00 -0400
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- Comments: <Parser> E: Original tag was -> FROM: "Lisa B. LaLonde 475-7339"
- <"LALONDE LB"@a1.rit.edu>
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- Subject: RE: document delivery
- Lines: 77
-
- I appreciated Laureen Cardon's description of BYU's on-campus
- delivery service, since I have often wondered if and how others
- dealt with this.
-
- Here at RIT we started offering this service to Faculty and Staff
- just a year ago. Similar to what Laureen described, we take
- requests for deliveries over the phone, in person at the
- Circulation Desk, or via our on-line holds system. The items are
- checked out and desensitized at Circulation, then delivered to on-
- campus offices using Circulation students. Additionally we will
- deliver Interlibrary loan items if they request delivery at the
- time they fill in their ILL request. We also provide delivery for
- microfilm copies that they have left with us. (This service has
- seen very little activity, surprisingly enough)
-
- I am in charge of the Reserve Desk, so coordinating this delvery
- service landed in my lap...since it matches what we do with
- deliveries of professors' items coming off Reserve. The system
- pretty much runs itself at this point (which is nice!). There are
- only a few times when problems occur, and they usually have to be
- handled by me (ownership of a service has its price!) Examples
- would be: if there is a problem with a patron's account I usually
- end up calling them to straighten it out. Or if the book they have
- requested is out, someone (students have been trained in this
- respect) calls them to explain why they did not get the book yet.
- The worst problem I've run across is that sometimes someone in the
- one farthest department, which is not on-campus enough for students
- to run on over there, will call. That's when I get to take the
- precious item on over in my own car, which could seriously cramp an
- already busy day! But these are the people who usually appreciate
- the service most....
-
- We do not charge for the service, unless there is already an ILL
- charge, or if they are paying for their microfilm copies.
-
- Circulation students do all the deliveries (except the above
- example where I step in). They are scheduled M-F in the
- afternoons, and we state in our publicity that if a person calls
- before 2pm, they will get same day delivery. If there are no
- deliveries, the student works at other Circulation tasks. This has
- helped Circulation to "absorb" the service.
-
- In respect to the numbers who could be using this service, not many
- people are, which surprised me at first. Then I started talking to
- some Faculty and they really didn't see it as a "need"...they liked
- coming over to browse for their books, they often found things that
- way that they wouldn't locate via computer. They also didn't find
- it a hardship to walk 2 buildings away to come here. So are we
- really providing a service? My administration says yes, that the
- good will generated, however insignificant, is still good will and
- worth it. Especially since it is a fairly painless, economic
- service for us. So I guess I can't get rid of it that easily.....
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- I'm sure there's more I could tell you, but this post is long
- enough already. I would be willing to send a copy of my publicity
- and also the forms we use to take requests to any who ask. I
- invite your further questions, and am also REALLY looking forward
- to hearing about what other libraries do about this service.
-
-
- Lisa LaLonde
- Coordinator of Reserve Services
- Wallace Library
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- Rochester, NY
- LBLWML@ritvax (bitnet)
- LBLWML@ritvax.isc.rit.edu (internet)
-