Frequently Asked Questions

Active participation in ILL

Can libraries opt in or out of ILL?
Yes – you can ask for a suspension for any period.  We have not heard of any public library deciding to no longer participate beyond a temporary suspension.
Which libraries are active right now on VDX?

Sending ILL by Canada Post

How do we send items by Canada Post?
  • All items must be shipped at Library Book Rate, via Canada Post. Library Book Rate labels are created using the Library Materials Shipping Tool (LMST)
  • Lender must pay. The Shipping Tool is designed that way for ALL of Canada
    • Fill in the appropriate fields in the tool, including weight and dimensions
    • Print label and affix to parcel; if using stamps apply required postage
    • Drop off at a post office or in a street letter box
What equipment do we need? Do we need a scale to weigh items?
Is there an easier or less time-consuming way to send books via Canada Post?
Can we use “P” stamps?
Can we combine multiple items in one shipment? How should we let the lending library know we’ve done this?
What assurance is there that Canada Post will maintain the current “library book rate”, especially if volume increases?
Will Canada Post pick up books from my library?

Postage Costs & Rebates

How does the postage rebate work?

SOLS provides partial rebates to public libraries for delivery of interlibrary loan material through Canada Post.  The yearly rebate rate is dependent on the total volume of items shipped across the system. Payments are made in January and are based on the previous year’s volume.  The reimbursement rate in 2019 was $2.00 per VDX loan.

Can the borrower pay for postage instead of the lender?
Should we pay attention to our lending/borrowing ratios? Will those ratios affect reimbursement?
Can libraries charge patrons for interlibrary loan?
Can one library charge another to borrow materials on interlibrary loan?
If you charge another library a fee to borrow materials, can the borrowing library pass the fee on to the person who requested the materials?

Managing ILL Requests & Statistics

Can libraries place limitations on the items they are willing to loan e.g. by types of materials, date of publication, etc?

VDX can do Format deflection based on the Item Formats available in VDX, but date of publication cannot be configured.  Please contact HelpDesk to discuss your options and set up deflection.

How can we limit the number of requests we fill?
How can we limit the number of requests we get from Zportal/patron initiated?
We would like to move to a default loan period in VDX of 8 weeks instead of 5 weeks. Is there a way to change this?
Is it possible to have the requested items mailed directly to a specific branch?
Do we need to report our ILL stats, particularly consortia borrowing or “Out of Info” borrows?
I’m not sure how to allocate my staff and funding resources now that we send items by Canada Post
Can we still borrow from the Archives of Ontario, and how does that work?

Webinar - The New ILLO Landscape

This is a recording of a webinar offered in June 2019, discussing the changes to interlibrary loan policies and practices going forward.  Libraries were asked to submit questions in advance, which we addressed in the webinar and have included in the Q & A above.