ebyblog students and information

WorldCat and Patrons

A post caught my eye over at Library Stuff about patrons that may find something in OpenWorldCat and head over to the library in question thinking they’ll get the book, only to be greeted by this:

Photo by rooneg.

The post goes on to recommend OCLC design something so that patrons don’t see things from libraries they can’t borrow from. I disagree to a point. I think if a patron is willing to drive to your library then there is really no good reason to deny them, especially if your a public institution. I think the problem lies more in the libraries then in OCLC’s offering. Here at Michigan State we allow anyone in Michigan to get a library card. We are also part of the MichiCard program which, among other things, makes us agree to not charge other member library patrons for the privilege. We don’t charge anyone as far as I know. After all, these are people who pay taxes. Multiple other universities and colleges are also part. I do question our policy of not lending CD’s and DVD’s to community borrowers, however.

I can see the arguments some have for “serving their immediate community” better, but it might be time to re-question what our “immediate community” is, especially in the light of a networked world. Our library does get calls from other countries and we can’t serve everyone. I usually use this as a point to education about ILL programs. That said, I think there’s very few people who actually come through our doors that would be sent home empty handed.

Perhaps it’s just me, but it seems odd to see lots of libraries talking about how to increase usage, serve patrons and make themselves more relevant but then also see them turn away people who actively want to use their library. Just seems backwards to me.

At UC Berkeley, members of the public who wish to use the libraries are charged something in the region of $100 per year for borrowing privileges. I was livid about that, until somebody suggested some potential sources of expenses behind paying for such a patron, and we worked out how much that would likely turn out to be.

It seems to me that the underlying question is not a matter of principle but more one of political will. The library has enough trouble staying solvent without having to pay for patrons outside of their primary constituencies. If academic libraries are going to be free to all, as I think they should be, some of the pressures on them (e.g. electronic serials costs) need to be relieved through political/institutional action.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison allows the public to borrow materials with a $30 annual “fee card.”

Whether or not you have a card, you can use just about all library resources on site.

Additionally, Wisconsin Alumni Association members have access to two online databases (ProQuest Research Library and ABI/Inform), no matter where they live. Members can also utilize an Ask A Reference Librarian service for research assistance, including some document delivery.

This is considered part of the “Wisconsin Idea” - in short, that the boundaries of the university are the boundaries of the state.