INTERLIBRARY LOAN TRANSACTIONS REACH 50,000

We all know that the University Library is home to thousands of books, articles, and special collections materials. What may be less obvious is the essential work carried out by Gail Barton, Bradley Harris, and their small army of student workers in the Interlibrary Loan Department on the second floor of the University Library.

College and university libraries have a long-standing practice of lending materials to one another, and Samford is certainly no exception. In fact, our Interlibrary Loan department is very active both in borrowing from other libraries and lending Samford-owned materials to others.

As of this afternoon, April 30, 2009, the Interlibrary Loan Department reached the 50,000 mark: 50,000 total requests processing through ILL since July of 2005. What a great achievement for this hard-working and essential service.

Moreover, ILL has been closed in on this 50,000 number very quickly. The department reached the 40,000 mark on September 6, 2008--just last fall. The most recent 10,000 items borrowed and lent have been processed in less than a year.

Gail and her team labor largely in the background, but the contribution of ILL to the intellectual life of Samford is immeasurable. Congratulations to Gail Barton and the Interlibrary Loan Department on a great achievement.