Kerry Keegan, Editor
Letter from the Chair
Hi, everyone!
My name is Heidi Nance and I’m delighted to be your STARS Chair for 2016-17. I am currently the Head of Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services at the University of Washington Libraries in Seattle, WA. Prior to that, I worked in Interlibrary Loan at Seattle Pacific University and in the Marketing/Image Library at Callison Architecture. I’ve been involved in resource sharing for more than eleven years now, and am daily awed and inspired by the dedication and creativity of the ILL community. There is something truly unique about our niche of the library world. Internally, Resource Sharing operations touch nearly all parts of the library – access services, cataloging, acquisitions, preservation, systems, and financial services. Externally, we depend on the generosity and spirit of cooperation among our networked web of libraries around the globe. This deep interdependence means that we must daily hone our skills of diplomacy, creativity, innovation, leadership, and service. I was drawn to STARS because our membership works tirelessly to create best practices, guidelines, training opportunities, and forums for open discussion among members. We share far more than just library materials!
The 2016 ALA Annual Conference in Orlando was full of exciting STARS-related programming. We had a lively presenter panel for “Resource Sharing in Tomorrowland,” (standing room only!), and a thought-provoking “Not Your Average Consortia” presentation. Our ILL Discussion Group and Hot Topics Discussion Groups continued to be well-attended and sparked spirited discussions about loan periods, the newly-revised ALA Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States (http://www.ala.org/rusa/resources/guidelines/interlibrary), and more. Our special thanks to the STARS Outreach and Promotion Committee who organized the STARS Social on Friday night. And last, but very far from least, I send my gratitude to Tom Bruno for his work this past year as STARS Chair and to Tina Baich for her ongoing service as Past-Chair.
Programming for Midwinter and Annual 2017 is not yet confirmed, but we have a number of great offerings in the works. At Midwinter, the Education and Training Committee will reprise their ever-popular ILL 101 workshop (aka “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about ILL”) presented by Kristen Palmiere, Megan Gaffney, Karen Janke, Cindy Kristof, and the award-winning Collette Mak. At Annual, we’ll have “I am not a lawyer: providing copyright services in libraries” also presented by Collette Mak and Cindy Kristof. I’m told there might even be a brand-new “Vendor Bingo” event/game!
In addition to our conference-related events, we’re working on a number of projects for this coming year. Watch for a newly-revised “Guidelines for Resource Sharing to Natural and Man-Made Disaster,” ILL-friendly model licensing terms, a possible STARS Twitter account, and more!
As I look back at the past year, and forward into the next, I remain humbled and inspired by the incredibly dedicated STARS members. Amid all your plentiful daily work at your home institutions, you remain committed to donating your time and effort to the wider ILL and library community. It’s an honor to work with you this year and I’m excited to see what it will bring!
Thank you, fellow STARS!
Heidi Nance
STARS Chair 2016-2017
Atlas Systems Mentoring Award Committee
The Sharing and Transforming Access to Resources Section (STARS) of ALA recognized Kimberly Steiner during ALA 2016. Kimberly Steiner is the Interlibrary Loan Technician from Messiah College and is pictured with John Brunswick from Atlas Systems.
Amy Paulus, Chair
Codes, Guidelines, and Technical Standards Committee
The Codes, Guidelines, and Technical Standards Committee has been busy preparing and presenting new materials for the ALA community. Updates include:
- Edits for the “ALA Library Fact Sheet 8 on Interlibrary Loans” have been submitted to RUSA.
- The “Guidelines and Procedures for Telefacsimile and Electronic Delivery of Interlibrary Loan Requests and Materials” has seen its sunset and has been removed from the RUSA guidelines web page.
- “Top Ten Changes to the ILL Code and Supplement” was presented at the ILL Discussion Group in Orlando. Its complementary handout has been shared on major ILL listservs.
- A free webinar on the newly revised ILL Code had 1,092 registrants from 632 library locations logged in across all 50 states! Join the ever-increasing number of viewers from the YouTube recording, which is available at https://youtu.be/Q7DTgjYf1-4.
- Preparations are being made for the review and & revision, as needed, of the Guidelines for Resource-Sharing Response to Natural and Manmade Disasters (2010).
Margaret Ellingson, Chair
Vendor Relations Committee
The Vendor Relations Committee reported on some of these activities before ALA Annual, but is still happy to include updates on its latest accomplishments. These include:
- The preparation of “Vendor Bingo” for Midwinter Atlanta, which aims to encourage members to visit participating vendors/sponsors.
- A scanner survey was sent out for completion between July 12 and July 29, 2016. Information gathered is being using to prepare a best practices ShareILL page.
- The ShareILL pages are being reviewed, with the goal of working with the Licensing and Legislation Committee on developing a template for borrowing e-books.
- Plans are being developed for the possible co-hosting of an article delivery forum with the ILL Discussion Group and pertinent vendors.
Robin Moskal, Chair