Dime Novels and Other Non-Lendable Material
We recently did an informal Email survey to find out which materials types the participating iBorrow libraries would not loan via iBorrow. Here is what we’ve gathered so far. We’ll update it as additional information comes in.
Non-lendable Item Types by Library
A few lines below you will find a list of the participating iBorrow libraries and descriptions of the item types they will not loan. We hope you find it useful, but please be aware of these limitations.
1. The URSA availability rules are based on Collection Code (to use Horizon terminology) not on item type. For those of you with a long attention span, I’ve posted an explanation of why it works that way below the list.
2. Many libraries have “unwritten rules” about what they will lend to whom. They may choose not to allow ILL lending for some things that they will loan within their own local system. And they may choose not to lend some things within their local system that they will lend to their very own borrowers.
Briefly put, many libraries’ actual lending rules are more complex than their published rules. One value of the list below is that it shows you the wide variation in lending rules, even among the relatively small number of current participants.
Participants and Item/Media types they will not lend.
Hernando County
Reference Items
Hillsborough County
DVD’s, VHS, music CD’s, reference materials
Lee County
Music CD’s, Books on CD, DVDs, Software, Book Discussion Kits, Digital Audio Players, Assistive devices, periodicals, books in these collections: E-books, leased, new book section, professional collection, reference, story shelf
Palm Harbor
DVDs, CD books, New Items, Reference, Genealogy, Periodicals, Newspapers, Adaptive Toys
East Lake
Digital Audio Players (Playaways)
Pinellas Park
Reference materials and playaways
Polk County Library Cooperative
Lake Wales
DVD’s, VHS, “New” books, genealogy, Reference
Lakeland
Music CD’s, VHS, DVD’s, computer games, software
Sunline
Clearwater Christian College
AV items (Cassette, CD, VHS, DVD), curriculum items, reference works
Dunedin
Best sellers, magazines, any AV material
Florida Southern College
CDs, DVDs, VHS, software, children’s books from the Instructional Materials collection,
Reference items
Largo
No: Interactive multimedia, Fiction VHS, Fiction DVD, Genealogy, High Demand, Board Books, Toys, Hooked on Phonics, Local History, Vertical file, magazines. [Book Clubs to Go: OK in Pinellas County only]
Yes: Playaways, Books on mp3 discs
Oldsmar
Best sellers, VHS, DVD
Safety Harbor
Fiction DVD’s, ‘new’ books, professional or reference items.
Why iBorrow uses Collection code and not Item Type
IBorrow’s availability rules are based on Collection Code rather than Item Type, because it searches the participating servers using the Z39.50 protocol. That search generally brings back the Collection Code, because that is what tells users ‘where’ it is shelved, and that is what online catalogs were originally for. IBorrow matches the Collection Code of the title the patron requests against the list of lendable or not lendable codes you sent us. If you have items you will loan and items you will not loan in the same collection code, iBorrow will not be able to tell them apart. URSA/iBorrow uses the Z39.50 protocol, because “all” libraries speak that, and only servers from the same vendor speak that vendor’s PAC language.