We had a slow start with this version, getting used to the new layout and overall "slowness". I am happy to report that since early October, ExLibris did a "Hot fix" and the response time has improved dramatically. Other than the slow response we all experience during peak hours on the Internet, Aleph is functioning smoothly.

In the past week, University of Minnesota-Morris-MNX has also started using Aleph as a lender and borrower.

1. University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus-will loan 6 reels per request.
2. Minnesota Historical Society-will loan 6 reels per request. *A patron can only have 6 reels out at a time.
3. Wisconsin Historical Society-will loan 6 reels per request. "A patron can only have 6 reels out at a time.

Sometimes, it isn’t always clear why a particular title is so popular in our libraries when it doesn’t show up on any national best seller lists. However, it’s probably due to a regional connection of some sort, such as a hometown author, or a mention in a local newspaper, radio, or television program. Occasionally a title shows up on the list just because so few libraries in our region own it, yet the demand is constant enough that it is never available via interlibrary loan.

When I compile a list of “In Constant Demand” titles (or as we call them, the “31’s”) each month, I search them in multiple library catalogs in our region to determine if there are circulating copies available. When the title has very few holds, or if it is finally back on the shelf at one or more libraries again, it is removed from the list. A title can remain on our list for as little as 1 month, or rarely, as long as several years, depending on demand at the libraries in our region. The lingering titles tend to be “Oprah” books, or extraordinarily popular titles like “The Da Vinci Code.”

MINITEX staff see a slightly different “31” list than we provide to you; I alert our staff to titles that might become available before the next list is published. That includes titles with a low number of holds showing up at local libraries, as well as items where it appears there may be a copy or two available on the shelf. In those cases, I ask staff to exhaust possible referral sources before sending a negative reply back to your office. However, if you are sure that a title is available and circulating, but still receive a report of “31”, please don’t hesitate to contact our staff (Raquel Franklin or Kevin Kelley) to ask that it be referred to the appropriate library.

I really enjoy putting the “In Constant Demand” list together, and I frequently add these titles to my own reading list. (With apologies to my public library for creating the extra work and lengthening their “hold” lists!) I am delighted when I find a new author that I might not have otherwise read. Occasionally, I find myself puzzled by all of the fuss. When I become annoyed that a book I really detested loiters on the list month after month, it’s a good sign that I need to take some vacation!

I hope you are finding the list useful. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments about the "In Constant Demand" list, by contacting me at: c-nels@umn.edu

http://illresources.blogspot.com/2006/05/ill-dashboard.html

I really like the look of this - it seems to give a really complete overview in just a very small amount of space. It looks like there is some new technology involved, but when does anything these days not involve another piece of software?

I see posts by staff from MINITEX libraries on the list frequently. Today, a post by Mike Grossman from Duluth Public Library illustrates how a good idea can become reality. After several of the "posters" grumbled about how difficult it is when a patron circumvents their ILL office to contact a lender directly to obtain special privileges, Mike offered this post:

"All responses to Heather's post below agreed - as do I - that there is
no good circumstance for a patron to go directly to a lending library,
around the borrowing Library's ILL staff.

I want to suggest that the problem really isn't that patrons go around
the borrowi ng library, however, it is that sometimes the lending library
responds to the patron's request (, promising to lend, granting
renewals, etc.) rather than send her or him back to the borrowing
library.

We can't control patron behavior, but perhaps we can influence the
behavior of ILL staffs. Perhaps it would help if the next revision of
the ILL code added a section specifying that it is the responsibility of
the borrowing library to respond to the borrowing patron, that lending
libraries should ALWAYS refer borrowing questions to the questioner's
home library."

It was such a good idea, that within a very short time of Mike's post, a member of American Library Association's Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) committee, who actually make changes in the National ILL Code commented that she will bring up his suggestion at the next meeting!

To sign up for the ILL-L list.