ILL Goes Green in Ames, IA

The Ames Public Library (APL), IA, and Iowa State University (ISU) Library are only about two miles apart, but, until recently, they exchanged interlibrary loan (ILL) materials using the U.S. Postal Service, which required packages to be routed via Des Moines, 31 miles away. Beginning last October, the two libraries decided to lower their carbon footprint with a local company called Bikes at Work, a bicycle delivery service that builds its own trailers.

Wayne A. Pedersen, head of acquisitions and ILL/document delivery at the ISU Library, came up with the idea. “I was aware of the company and felt we needed some changes in the way we handled our ILL service,” Pedersen said. He reported that a total of 144 items—including books, CDs, and DVDs—have been borrowed by ISU from APL, with 13 borrowed by APL from ISU. While those numbers may seem modest, ISU has actually borrowed items at more than double the previous clip, while costs are lower and delivery speed has been cut by about a third. ISU users can order ASU materials via ILL by going to OCLC, bypassing any ISU paperwork.

Also, Pedersen noted, the courier service now has enabled APL to loan CDs and DVDs to the ISU Library. Jim Gregory of Bikes at Work explained that the contract is indeed profitable. “The libraries are only a couple of miles apart, so we can make a round trip between them quickly.” Also, a mail run to the local post office, just a block from the public library, makes things easier.