Reports

1. Summary of recommendations:
   1. Standard of 24 hours for supplying library to respond to, process and ship requests for both returnable and non-returnable items within the BLC.
      
      
   2. Best Practices Guidelines (Appendix A)
      
      
   3. Annual BLC ILL Agreement (Appendix B) signed by directors indicating commitment to the ILL Lending Standard, support for the Best Practices Guidelines and staff participation in Resource Sharing COI.
      
      
   4. BLC commitment of resources to support:
      
      
      1. Union listing of serial holdings from BLC libraries to OCLC.
      2. Consortia negotiation with publishers for ejournal licenses to allow ILL; management software and equipment vendors for discount pricing.
      3. Distribution and analysis of a BLC ILL/DD Performance Measurement Study based on the ARL model.
      4. Distribution and analysis of a BLC annual survey (Appendix C) indicating the status of each library's lending resources, services and staffing.
         
         
   5. Appointment of a Borrowing Standards / Best Practices Task Force
      
      
   6. No recommendation for incentive program
      
      
2. Background Information

   The Boston Library Consortium is a cooperative association of nineteen academic research libraries steeped in the most intense academic tradition in the country. In this time of burgeoning publications and budgetary cutbacks, the spirit of collaboration and reciprocity is more vital than ever. No individual library has the ability to meet all the research needs of its community. Interlibrary Loan is a primary vehicle for facilitating the process and has become central to library service. Since the majority of Interlibrary Loan requests are filled within its membership, the BLC has attached priority status to the examination of resource sharing practices and procedures of consortium libraries. The goal of this taskforce is to develop measurable standards that each library can accept as a base level of performance.

   The task force studied standards and best practices established by other consortia at a national and international level. We consulted the following documents and resources for applicable standards and best practices:

   • RLG -The SHARES program
   • Greater Western Library Alliance- ILL Best Practices model for consortia and local operations.
   • ARL's Access and Technology Program for ILL/Document Delivery resources, specifically, Mary Jackson's recommendations.
   • Tom Delaney, Head ILL/DD at Columbia University and recipient of the 2002 Virginia Boucher-OCLC Distinguished ILL Librarian Award
   • National Resource Sharing Working Group of Australia
   • National Guidelines for Document Delivery of the National Library of Canada
   • American Library Association's Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States
   • ACRL 2004 Revised Guidelines for the Interlibrary Loan of Rare and Unique Materials
     
     
3. Programs planned or implemented

   Based upon the information gathered from these sources, the members collective experience in providing high-level lending service within the BLC and on feedback from the ILL COI, the task force recommends the implementation of a standard of 24 hour response for processing returnable and non-returnable items exchanged within the Consortium. In addition, it recommends BLC libraries follow Best Practices guidelines for facilitating this standard. It is the task force's opinion that this standard needs the philosophical and practical commitment of administration. Library administrators will be invited to sign the BLC Annual ILL Agreement indicating they understand and agree that their staff will follow the above ILL performance standard and procedures. This action by leadership establishes interlibrary loan as a core service and indicates interest to expand traditional ILL as libraries are less able to support all the needs of their local users. Administrators will educate staff with control over collections and library operations to agree to work with ILL staff to genuinely consider ILL requests on a case- by- case basis for all types of material.

   The task force invokes the BLC to commit resources to enhance and improve resource sharing within the consortium ILL environment
   The promotion and support by the BLC for Union Listing of local data records of serial holdings from BLC libraries into OCLC would enhance the performance of lending libraries because a greater proportion of requests would come to the library having been verified according to year or volume. It would increase the accuracy and turnaround time for borrowing requests for articles by providing holdings information to reference librarians and patrons using any First Search database, unlike the former BLC Union List of Serials.
   Negotiation between the BLC and publishers of ejournals for consortia license agreements to include ILL and for discounts on group purchase of uniform management software, scanners, color copiers, etc. would attempt to balance service resources among BLC libraries.

   The results of a BLC Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery Performance Measures Study based on the ARL model would provide quantifiable information on local ILL /DD practices that center around staffing, technology, delivery and administration. This study would be followed by a yearly resource/staffing status survey, published in flowchart format. It would provide a snapshot comparison of the status of individual ILL operations across the Consortium membership. This information has never been compiled before and would be a useful resource for budgetary and staffing adjustments. An appointment of a Resource Sharing Borrowing Task Force with a similar charge to establish Best Borrowing Practices for ILL/DD based on the ARL findings would complete the process.

   The task force does not recommend an incentive program that benefits only those libraries, which are perceived to be high-performing within the consortium. We fear that incentives would breed competition and possible resentment toward the high performing libraries. Incentives would not contribute to the atmosphere of collegiality and reciprocity that we hope to foster. It is the feeling of the task force that these recommendations will improve and enhance resource sharing within the consortium and would renew library commitment to this essential partnership within the BLC.

4. Resources used (how BLC resources have been used)

   The BLC director, Barbara Preece, and her assistant, Diane Klaiber, provided direction in person and by email. Melissa Petze arranged conference calls and room reservations for meetings. Communication with the COI was via the blcill-l@blc.umb.edu listserv and at the first quarterly meeting of 2004.

5. Activities (summary)
   • Meetings held:
     
     o November 4, 2003
     o December 2, 2003
     o January 13, 2004
     o February 5, 2004
     o March 11, 2004
     o March 16, 2004
     o April 1, 2004
     o April 8, 2004
     o May18, 2004
     o May 27, 2004
     
     
   • Interim reports:
     
     o February 5, 2004
     o April 4, 2004
     
     
   • Final report:
     
     o May 28, 2004
     
     
   • Milestones/Challenges:

     The Interlibrary Loan offices in the libraries of the BLC, in fact, could be construed to constitute one large "virtual" interlibrary loan office. This concept provided the perfect opportunity to review lending processes and expectations with an eye towards making daily interactions with one another proceed smoothly and efficiently to the ultimate benefit of our mutual faculty, students and staff. In considering ways to improve lending we consulted many sources and considered our charge very carefully.

     This task force solicited feedback to our preliminary best practices document from the Resource Sharing COI and received responses from 13 institutions. The responses were thoughtful and detailed. We revised our document to reflect their suggestions and moved closer to achieving our goal of improving service and setting a standard. The revised draft was circulated and discussed at the COI meeting held at the BLC Annual Celebration on April 1, 2004.

     One of the challenges we faced in considering our charge was the idea of providing incentives. The task force grappled with this directive. Because of the long history of cooperation that we have established, we found that the idea of rewarding only libraries that met the standards to be far less appealing than the idea of rewarding all libraries in the consortium with support and information that would enhance resource sharing for all. The lower performing libraries need to have resources, information and goals that can further their ability to become high performing libraries. As a direct result of the conversation about incentives within the task force and with the COI, we developed the survey attached as Appendix C. It is hoped that the BLC would administer and use this annual survey of ILL operations to aid in disseminating knowledge about individual operations within the consortium and to allow us to compare our resources and processes. Not only would this allow ILL offices to understand the circumstances in which colleagues work, but it would also allow directors of lower performing libraries to compare themselves to peer libraries and acknowledge their shortcomings. The establishment of a standard and best practices outlined in this report intentionally ask for commitment from the directors. To achieve success libraries must commit to resource sharing at the top of the library organization.

     This task force used conference calls and email to great advantage in our work. We relied on our colleagues in the COI for feedback and were very pleased with their participation and assistance. The BLC also provided stimulating feedback. We have high hopes that the standard, best practices and survey that we have created will improve resource sharing and reaffirm the importance of our partnerships within the consortium.

1. Meetings held:
   November 4, 2003 Boston Public Library
   December 2, 2003 Boston Public Library
   January 13, 2004 Conference Call
   February 5, 2004 Conference Call
   March 11, 2004 Conference Call
   March 16, 2004 Conference Call
   April 1, 2004 State House
   April 8, 2004 Conference Call
   
   
2. Activities/Accomplishments to date:
   The task force responded to its charge by collaborating on a draft document indicating standard office turnaround time and preferred procedures for implementation. It circulated the document to the Resource Sharing COI through the BLC ILL listserv and feedback was encouraged. Thirteen libraries responded and each response thoroughly considered. The task force edited the original document to address same. The Resource Sharing COI met after the BLC Celebration to further discuss individual concerns and to come to consensus on the topic of incentives and accountability.
   The task force is in the process of writing the final report. It has sent potential recommendations to Barbara Preece and Cathy Norton for their perusal and feedback.
   
   
3. The task force communicated with Resource Sharing COI and with the BLC liaison Barbara Preece via email throughout this process.
   
   
4. No requests of the Board at this time.
   
   
5. Next steps:
   Complete final report and submit by May 28, 2004
   
   

1. Meetings held:
   November 4, 2003 Boston Public Library
   December 2, 2003 Boston Public Library
   January 13, 2004 Conference Call
   
   
2. Activities/Accomplishments to date:
   After an explanation of our charge and an outline for reports by Barbara Preece, the Task Force identified extant high performance consortium agreements and other related literature as a basis for our standard. These were:
   RLG -The SHARES program
   Greater Western Library Alliance- ILL Best Practices model for consortia and local operations.
   ARL's Access and Technology Program for ILL/Document Delivery resources, specifically, Mary Jackson's recommendations.
   National Resource Sharing Working Group of Australia
   National Guidelines for Document Delivery of the National Library of Canada
   American Library Association's Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States
   We closely examined these documents for applicable standards and best practices and also proposed an initial 3 part format for our final report. We each took responsibility for drafting a section: Prefatory material; Measurable standards with procedural guidelines including a signed administrative agreement; and a list of Best Practices to be attached as an appendix.
   The draft was edited and submitted for approval by our Board liaison Cathy Norton and BLC liaison, Barbara Preece. There was discussion about a potential incentive program for high performing libraries, but we drew no conclusions.
   The task force consulted by email with the BLC liaisons, Diane Klaiber and Barbara Preece, throughout this process.
   
   
3. The task force communicates with Resource Sharing COI
   
   
4. No requests of the Board at this time.
   
   
5. Next steps:
   The task force intended to distribute the draft and discuss the incentive program at the COI meeting after the BLC Celebration, but since it was postponed, the material will be circulated to COI members via the BLC /ILL listserv. A conference call has been set up for the 2nd week of February to edit and streamline the current document in preparation for distribution.
   The task force will consider the feedback and make further edits as they prepare the final draft.