Caledon Public Library to resume interlibrary loans in limited capacity

June 20, 2019 · 0 Comments

Effective July 2, interlibrary loan service will resume at Caledon Public Library (CPL) in a limited capacity.

Due to budget restrictions, the Library will be introducing a cap of ten interlibrary loan requests per patron at a given time. Requests for DVDs, music CDs, and board books will no longer be accepted. CPL will also be limiting the number and type of items that are shared with other libraries as all items loaned between libraries will now need to be sent via Canada Post.

“Caledon Public Library recognizes that many library users rely on the interlibrary loan service to access materials not available locally. In order to ensure that these services remain sustainable, the Library delayed relaunching the service until such time that more information was available and new processes and policies could be put in place.” said Colleen Lipp, CEO and Chief Librarian of CPL.

The interlibrary loan services were initially suspended in April as a result of provincial cuts of approximately 50 percent to the Southern Ontario Library Services’ (SOLS) annual operating budget. SOLS had long coordinated the loan of items between libraries in Southern and Eastern Ontario, with the majority of deliveries being transported by SOLS’ courier vans at no cost to end users, local libraries or municipalities.

While the software used to coordinate the sharing of items between libraries came back online at the beginning of June, the courier service has been fully eliminated.