WMS Procedures Manual: Checking Out and In ILLs

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is an item our library does not own but has borrowed from another library on behalf of our patrons. We also lend our books to other libraries. ILL is done a bit differently at every library, but this is how we do it here:  

Staff will mainly encounter an ILL item when they need to check one out to a patron (like a typical library book) or an ILL item has been returned from a patron. Most of the time, the ILL will look like this: 

When ILL comes via inter-campus mail: When the ILL arrives from the Access Services/ILL Office (from the Northeast Campus), scan it using the barcode at the TOP into the "Check In" area of Circulation and the system will tell you to either place it on the hold shelf or route somewhere else (perhaps sent to the wrong campus on accident!). This will also trigger the notification for the patron that the item is ready to be picked up, just like a typical hold (so, the notificaiton is coming from the circulation side of the sytem, not the ILL side). If you are at the Northeast Campus, the ILL librarian will either handle this part and put the ILL on the hold shelf or hand an ILL to you to scan in and put on the hold shelf. 

Checking out an ILL to a patron: Check out the ILL item to a patron just like you would a TCC Library book, but using the the barcode at the TOP of our book strap. ILL items ready for pickup should be on the hold shelf at your campus. The patrons will have gotten an email about them being ready just like they do for TCC items (the notiication is coming from the circulation side of the system, not the ILL side). After pulling up their account/profile, the circulation system should match the due date that is on the book strap. If it doesn't, change it manually in WMS Circulation to what it says on the book strap unless it falls on a weekend or holiday break (and let the patron know that is why you or the system rounded up their due date or why you cannot extend to the full amount of days). 

TO CHANGE THE DATE: In their WMS account, select (checkmark) the item in their checkouts list>select button "Change due date">select calendar icon in the popup that appears>choose date that matches the strap>select "select">select "OK" in the popup. 

Library employees should extend the due date in the circulation system so that all notifications and other messaging coming from the Access Services Office match what the library user is being told. Other ILL messaging states the ILL item must be returned in-person during operating hours, regardless of the book strap due date/what day of the week the due date falls on. Give the patron their item and, if you can, make a note of their T# and/or the ILL number and the due date the system was saying before you had to change it and let the ILL Librarian know (whenever you have a chance) that the circ due date isn't matching with the book strap. This sometimes happens if the supplying/lending library grants a long amount of time with the item (perhaps months) and our system can't think that far ahead or there is a glitch (example: the circulation system might also attempt to override any due dates longer than our own circulation policies and reset to TCC Library item defaults, beyond weekend and holidays set in the circulation calendar. These defaults must also be ignored if the supplying library has granted more time with the ILL item than we typically allow with our own items). The ILL Librarian will investigate and keep track of these issues! There is an FAQ to help you remember that the book strap lists the correct due date. 

When ILL mail comes via postal mail (USPS, UPS, etc.): This is mainly for NEC staff. All incoming ILLs from other non-TCC libraries are shipped via postal mail to the NEC ACS Office and picked up by NEC library staff for the Access Services Office (AS) to process. The AS Office is where they are marked received in our interlibrary loan system, book straps put on, etc., before sending to the patron's pickup location/campus via inter-campus mail. The ILL Librarians have an extra tab in WMS that says "Interlibrary Loan." You might hear the librarians refer to "Tipasa" or "WorldShare ILL" and those all have to do with systems handling interlibrary loan. 

IMPORTANT: WS ILL (or sometimes WS-ILL) is a branch location in WMS that only Access Services staff should be using. It does NOT stand for the West campus library. It stands for "WorldShare ILL." Staff WMS locations should match the campus location where they work. Check with your CTL if you have questions about where to ship something or concerns about your WMS branch location.

When patrons return their ILL items: When a patron returns the ILL item, check it in like any other library item and it will tell you to ship back to a WS-ILL location, which means send it back to the Northeast Campus. You can stick a yellow book strap in the book and then place in a NEC bin or blue bag for intercampus mail. Or, using a department mailer is fine too to distinguish it from other items. This is important if the book strap has been removed. Otherwise, if the strap is still on the book, it is not a big deal if you are out of yellow straps, as the system will tell any unsure staff where an item is going upon scanning it in/checking it in. 

ILL book returned without a book strap? No worries! It sometimes happens. Patrons sometimes remove or lose the strap, thus taking off the barcode we use to check in the item. They aren't supposed to (the strap itself says not to), but if they do here is the procedure. First, recover the barcode. You can recover the barcode number 3 different ways:

1) if they return it in person, ask them for their T# and you can copy and paste the ILL barcode number checked out to their account into the "Check In" field in Circulation 

2) search in "Discover Items" for the title of the book (using Temporary Items as the Data Type) and then find the barcode that way (click on the result to see who it is checked out to, if anyone, and the barcode in the temporary record for it; all ILLs are temporary items): 

3) If you're having trouble finding it through one of the above, contact Amanda or someone else in the Access Services (AS) Office and they can tell you the barcode.

It is important to "check in" the item so that the system will show the item as "in-transit" back to the AS Office and so that the item will no longer be checked out to the patron. However, it could also be that it was not an ILL item, just a library book from another system returned to the wrong place! It happens a lot with TCCL books. The AS Office can verify for you if that's the case and can send it to the correct library as well. Just put in a yellow ILL flag and send to the NE campus or use an intercampus envelope to help distinguish it apart from TCC books.