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Your
Library Never Has Everything That You
Want
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Why Do We Have
Inter-Library Loan?
- At one time or another, almost
everybody needs resources that are not available at your local
library.
- This is particularly true at high
school libraries, smaller public libraries, public library
branches, special libraries, and community college
libraries.
- Look at some example
numbers:
- Foothill College - 80,000+/-
items.
- Los Altos branch of the Santa
Clara County Library System - 220,000+/- itmes.
- King (main) Library of the San
Jose Public Library System - 421,000+ items. The entire system
has 2.12 million items. (source:: Marty, 03/2002)
- San Jose State University
Library - 972,000+ bibliographic records, representing over
one-million items. (source: Celia Bakke, 03/2002)
- University of California -
Berkeley - 8,628,028 volumes, with 40 million-plus items in
total. (source: ALA, 1998)
- Library of Congress -
23,994,965 volumes, with 115 million items in total. (source:
ALA, 1998)
Can You Access
These Libraries?
- You can get a library card at any
public library in California. Only a few charge for
non-residents.
- You can go and use many if not
most academic libraries. Some offer library cards (often called
"community cards") to the public for a fee. Anyone can get a
library card at SJSU, for example, for $60/six months or
$100/year.
- You can get books from many if
not most libraries through-out the U.S. through inter-library
loan. You may have to pay for shpping the materials to your local
library.
Other Libraries,
Everywhere
- The Internet has made numerous
Libraries around the world accessible online, with more-and-more
coming on every day.
- The World Wide Web (WWW or Web)
has made it much easier to access those libraries, so librarians
are doing it ever day.
- The primary uses of those remote
libraries include:
- Research
- Inter-Library Loan
- Collection
Development
- Verification
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