LTA Interlibrary Loan and Resource Sharing 2 â Questions and Answers
Question 1: What are 'non-returnables' in ILL?
- Items lost in transit that cannot be recovered
- Photocopies or digital scans of articles that patrons are permitted to keep (Correct answer)
- Electronic resources that expire automatically after a set period
- Items too fragile to safely mail to another library
Correct answer: Photocopies or digital scans of articles that patrons are permitted to keep
Non-returnables are copiesâsuch as photocopied or scanned journal articlesâthat patrons receive and keep, unlike physical books that must be returned.
Question 2: Which ILL system is operated by the National Library of Medicine and used primarily for health sciences and biomedical literature?
- ALA ILLnet
- OCLC WorldShare
- DOCLINE (Correct answer)
- Relais D2D
Correct answer: DOCLINE
DOCLINE is the National Library of Medicine's automated ILL request and referral system designed for health sciences and biomedical library networks.
Question 3: When a lending library sends a 'Conditional' response to an ILL request, what does this mean?
- The item is not owned by the library and cannot be supplied
- The patron must visit the lending library in person to access the item
- The item will be supplied but with specific restrictions such as no renewals or a shortened loan period (Correct answer)
- The request is under administrative review and a decision is pending
Correct answer: The item will be supplied but with specific restrictions such as no renewals or a shortened loan period
A Conditional response means the lending library will provide the item but has attached specific conditions, such as restricting renewals or shortening the standard loan period.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of copyright compliance tracking in ILL for journal articles?
- To ensure patrons properly cite borrowed sources in their work
- To manage journal subscription renewals and cancellations
- To identify which periodical titles are most in demand
- To prevent exceeding the legal limit on copying recent journal articles and avoid infringement (Correct answer)
Correct answer: To prevent exceeding the legal limit on copying recent journal articles and avoid infringement
Copyright compliance tracking ensures the library does not exceed the CONTU 'Rule of Five,' which limits copying from recent journal issues to avoid copyright infringement.
Question 5: What does a 'Will Not Supply' (WNS) response from a lending library indicate?
- The lending library declines to fulfill the request for any of several possible reasons (Correct answer)
- The item is currently checked out but will be available soon
- The borrowing library's ILL account has overdue unreturned items
- The item is on course reserve and unavailable for ILL
Correct answer: The lending library declines to fulfill the request for any of several possible reasons
A 'Will Not Supply' response means the lending library is declining to fill the ILL request, which may be due to policy restrictions, item condition, or other library-specific reasons.
Question 6: What does a 'RUSH' designation on an ILL request indicate to the lending library?
- The item must be sent via certified mail with tracking
- A newer edition of the requested item should be substituted
- The patron requires the item urgently and the request should be expedited (Correct answer)
- The request involves a high-value rare item requiring special handling
Correct answer: The patron requires the item urgently and the request should be expedited
A RUSH designation alerts the lending library that the patron needs the item urgently and the request should be prioritized and expedited above standard requests.
Question 7: Which of the following information is typically required when submitting an ILL request for a book?
- Patron's social security number and income verification
- Author, title, publisher, publication year, and ISBN (Correct answer)
- Patron's complete borrowing history and preferred reading format
- Estimated number of pages the patron intends to read
Correct answer: Author, title, publisher, publication year, and ISBN
Standard bibliographic detailsâauthor, title, publisher, year, and ISBNâare required to accurately identify, locate, and verify the correct edition of a book for ILL.
LTA Interlibrary Loan and Resource Sharing 2
What are 'non-returnables' in ILL?