Loan service returns to the library

We truly appreciate the outpouring of support for the Interlibrary Loan Service (ILLO) at Niagara Falls Public Library (NFPL) after the elimination of the ILLO delivery service.

We understand the meaningful impact the service has had on many of our customers. As we know how things change in the world, so it does in the library world. There is a new ILLO landscape and we are pleased to let you know customers can use our ILLO service again.

Libraries must now pay to ship ILLO materials to each other using Canada Post’s library materials rate and because of this, ILLO service begins as a pilot project to help us establish new workflows and a budget for shipping ILLO materials via Canada Post.

Our customers will be able to submit a request for one ILLO item per month.

Please note that ILLO requests for DVDs cannot be submitted. ILLO requests from earlier in the year that were unfilled as of April 2019 will not be automatically resubmitted. Customers are welcome to resubmit unfilled requests themselves through our material request form or through staff.

As a reminder, customers who are reciprocal borrowers with NFPL must place ILLOs through their servicing (home) library, as per our reciprocal borrowing agreement with Fort Erie, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Pelham, Thorold and Welland public libraries.

Many customers who borrow ILLOs aren’t aware that we also do our part as a lender of materials to customers at other libraries.

For ILLO to work well, it depends on libraries lending to each other and borrowing from each other in a balanced way. NFPL is committed to our role as a lender of materials to other libraries, as we also borrow on behalf of our customers. To that end, we must balance our borrowing and lending evenly as we establish a budget for shipping materials to other libraries via Canada Post.

For all the busy adults out there, if you haven’t read a good book for a while, why not join a book discussion on Monday, July 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the Victoria Avenue library. Our discussion will centre on the book “Precious Cargo” by Craig Davidson. If you’d like to get a copy, please register with us and pick up a book at the library to read for the discussion time.

Kids can keep reading all summer long with the TD Summer Reading Club. For your free registration kit, stop by any library location. The TD Summer Reading Club is Canada’s biggest bilingual summer reading program, where kids of all ages, interests and abilities can read books, have fun and earn prizes. Back by popular demand: read for beads! Build your own personalized bead necklace, bracelet or key-chain one book at a time. TD Summer Reading Club runs until Sunday, Aug. 25.