'Hard to be overjoyed' about partial reinstatement of interlibrary loans: librarian

The reinstatement of interlibrary loan services in Ontario's libraries is good news for patrons, but libraries will still feel the burden.

"Library systems will still be on the hook for, let's just say ... a third of the cost to mail things to another library system in Ontario," said Tania Sharpe, chief librarian at Chatham-Kent Public Library.

The computer system used by libraries to borrow materials has reopened, following the elimination of the service after the PCs cut funding to the Ontario Library Service (OLS) by 50 per cent.

After talks with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, OLS is now able to bring back the computer system.

However, libraries will have to cover a percentage the costs associated with using Canada Post to mail books from branch to branch.

"It's hard to be overjoyed or ecstatic about it," said Sharpe. This cost will now have to be part of a library's budget.

There are still some details missing regarding how the revised interlibrary loans service will work. Until those details are released, Sharpe said libraries across the province would take a reserved approach to reopening their service.

That's because libraries that reopen the service would feel "a lot of pressure" handling requests, she said.

Some of the people who use that service at the Chatham-Kent library include those who conduct research on family history or general academic researchers.

There's a woman who isn't able to leave her home, said Sharpe. When she finds an author she likes, "she likes to read everything that author has read," relying heavily on the interlibrary loan service.

Sharpe plans on bringing a report to the library board at the end of June, which will suggest the library re-evaluate costs at the end of the year or at the beginning of 2020.

The library may have to "scale it back to what we can afford," she said.