Out-of-Province Requesting

Currently the Illume (SHAREit) software can only send requests to participant & partner libraries included within our BCUC consortia of British Columbia and Yukon libraries. We're also exploring adding outside ISO targets (for example to the University of Alberta ISO-Relais software) and hope to make these new targets available after all consortial library ISO targets have been configured first (ongoing). We've also requested feature enhancements to enable sites to use the SHAREit software directly with a peer-to-peer email feature.

In the meantime, the catalogue suggestions below can be used to request items not available within the Illume consortia, for example the Alberta Public Libraries (TAL). Please contact us to report out-dated links or suggest additional out-of-province union database catalogues!

Steps for out-of-province requesting using the catalogues below:

1. Locate lender(s): Try using the recommended out-of-province catalogues below to locate lenders for your items. Catalogues are available for Academic, Archives, National & International and Public resources.
   
   We recommend starting with the national catalogue Voilà before selecting other catalogues by appropriate geographic area or type. Having trouble locating any lenders? Contact us or the ILL listservs for assistance.
    
2. Policies & Fees: Once you've located holdings for your item - use the LAC Symbols & Interlibrary Loan Policies in Canada Directory to check for policy and fee information for lender libraries.
    
3. Contact Lender: Contact the lender library via email, telephone or use any available online forms to request your item! Use the LAC Symbols & Interlibrary Loan Policies in Canada directory or their website to check for contact information for their ILL department.

Want to see how other BC libraries request out-of-province items? Check-out our Library Spotlights with tips & suggestions on requesting outside of Illume below!

Other Library Catalogues:

Please contact us if you have additional questions on out-of-province requesting or would like to recommend another catalogue for this list or report tips or corrections.

Thank you to Vancouver Public Library for sharing many of their recommended catalogues!

Library Spotlights:

New Westminster Public Library (BVI):

• Patron Requests: Patrons submit a paper form for items they're unable to locate within Illume.
• Tracking: Requests are tracked using the paper ILL forms to record notes and the progress of the loan. They are not transferred to Illume or another computer system.
• Lender Libraries: ILL Staff search Amicus, Voilà and Worldcat to locate other Canadian lender libraries with the item.
• Communications: ILL Staff communicate directly with patrons via their preferred contact and the holding Lender library via email.
• Tip from NWPL Staff: Use the Library and Archives Canada 'Symbols and Interlibrary Loan Policies in Canada' directory a lot. We check it for other libraries ILL policies, charges for loans, and contact information.

Langara College (BVAL):

• Patron Requests: Patrons submit an online form for all requests.
• Lender Libraries outside BC: As a library without an OCLC subscription, Langara College uses Illume for their day-to-day services and frequently submits out-of-province requests through online forms in Ontario (OCUL Racer), Quebec (Colombo), and Atlanta Canada (CAUL).  ILL Staff say "In the process of doing ILL requests outside of BC, if I find a library has an online ILL form page, I always a bookmark it in my browser, so that I can request directly from them. If a library uses Relais they will usually let me know and send me the link to their Relais page with a username and login I can use. I always bookmark these pages too for use later on as well."
• Tips from ILL Staff: When trying to order materials from the USA, just send them a "cold call" email asking them what you want, and include in that email the maximum cost you can pay, and the key statement "If this is not the correct way to do an ILL request with you can you please let me know how". A lot of the academic libraries in the USA have an ILLaid system set up. Some will just create an account for you and enter the info from your email into it, and process your request this way. Other libraries will say you have to use their ILLaid system and will send you a username and password and the link to their ILLaid system webpage. You then have to login and fill out the info yourself and submit it.

​Vancouver Public Library (BVA):

• Coming soon!

More libraries coming soon... Want to share your out-of-province Illume workflow with other members? Please contact us and feel free to also use the listservs!

Tips & Suggestions:

• Search Resources/Targets: Add the new Voilà search target as a weblink for Patrons or a Z39.50 search for Staff within Illume. Check-out our Information on Amicus & Voilà for additional information on how to do this!
• PI-ILL: Add a Blank Request form for your patrons to submit requests directly for items unavailable in Illume. Worried about patrons submitting too many requests? Activate Guest request limits using our FAQ here.

SHAREit Software Enhancements:

The Illume Administrative Support Centre has spoken with Auto-Graphics about adding additional tracking and communication features for out-of-province requesting. Auto-Graphics will be exploring new peer-to-peer out-of-province requesting features next year after the update to Version 6 of the software. Please let us know your suggestions for out-of-province requesting within Illume!