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Short loan: Is it time to change it? |
Comments on Timely return of materials |
A new survey is being sent to SBC members the week of March 13, 2006, with only one question. This poll will help determine whether the Committee is ready to make a recommendation to change the loan period or renewal option.
What change should be made in the Short Loan rule? (choose one)
Here's the background on what has been discussed up to this point:
Members of the Summit Borrowing Committee have heard that patrons would like to be able to keep the short loan materials for more than 3 days, and in fact sometimes keep them for more than 3 days or delay picking them up at the library until they know they will have time to use them (such as a two-hour video, over the weekend). A longer loan period or a renewal option may satisfy patron requests. On the other hand, this may pose a new challenge to the goal of encouraging members to loan more materials via Summit Borrowing. Should the short loan rule be changed?
The Summit Borrowing Committee-Steering Team authorized a survey in winter 2006 (Copy of complete survey: page 1, page 2, page 3)
Results:
Increasing the loan period is a good idea: yes-12, no-14, undecided/don't care-7
If loan period is increased, change it to 4 days (3), 5 days (8), 7 days (7), disagree (12)
Adding a renewal period is a good idea: yes-15, no-9, maybe-8, don't care-1
Renewal period should be ... same as loan period (23), doesn't need to be the same (4)
Allow a renewal period ... only if loan period stays 3 days (14); even if loan period increases (8); don't allow a renewal (7); uncertain or don't care (4)
Comments with additional rationale:
We think that the short term loan should be applied so that the patron could have the material 6-8 days total. This may be done either with a nonrenewable 7-day loan, or renewable 3- or 4-day loans. Currently, an item on short-term loan easily spends more time in the possession of the courier than in the possession of the patron, which is inappropriate.
I am having problems getting people to go for the current situation and increasing the time out would make it very improbable that we would open our materials up for loaning.
The short loan period helps libraries take better care of potential high-use, valuable items. The longer they're out, more chance of loss and or damage.
The renewal function would have to interact with the booking module so that renewals would be disallowed if a booking was within a certain range.
Some staff here feel that there should be a short, restrictive loanrule (3 day, no renewal, high repl cost, high fine) for the valuable items that libraries might lend, and then a slightly longer rule (7 day, maybe renewal, reg. fines and reg. replacement cost) for the things we don't want out for 21 +21 days, but can't bear charging $150 repl. cost for. They would like the Borrowing Committee to re-open this discussion at an appropriate time.
If the main problem seems to be students needing to keep videos over a weekend when they will have time to watch them, it seems that adding a renewal would be most helpful. This allows the library who owns the item to decline the renewal if there is a local hold on the item and it is needed back immediately. I don't believe libraries would have a disinclination to loan shorter items if there was a renewal because, again, it allows a local hold to override a off campus patron keeping the item longer. A longer loan period does not afford this option.
The only [way] a renewal would be a good idea is if the patron's home library could contact the owning site for permission to renew the item.
The time to notify people for 3 day loans should also be increased. There should be a way to block renewals if loaning library receives a booking or request from their own patrons.
Consistency is important to patrons so keep the loan periods easy to figure out. Otherwise, we would like to do whatever gets the most schools loaning more materials.
Rather than renewals for short loan rule, we think the time on the hold shelf should be increased. This is beneficial for students who only come to campus once a week.
The ST authorized a new, one-question poll to determine whether the Committee is ready to make a recommendation to change the loan period or renewal option.
See also comments on Timely return of materials.
Because the results were inconclusive, and even where there was a majority vote yes or no there were many undecided or don't care, the Steering Team determined that a follow-up survey was needed (described above).
updated: May 18, 2006
