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Widener ILL is the Number One Lender in New England

The Interlibrary Loan Division (ILL) at Widener Library is the number one lender in the New England area, according to statistics recently published by the New England Library Network (NELINET). Widener ILL received, processed, and shipped 18,075 loans or copies through the national Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) in the year 2002.

ILL fills both book and photocopy requests, accepting about 150 requests a day, filling roughly half. Within the division, three staff members—known as lenders—process and send items, while three "borrowers" request materials from other libraries for Harvard patrons. The division sends materials to places as far away as the University of California and as close as MIT.

Nick Wharton, head of the Interlibrary Loan Division from 1999 to 2003, said, "As a public service point, we strive to provide the fastest turnaround and most efficient service possible. Over the last five years ILL loans have increased by almost 10,000. Everyone in the division deserves credit for this increase and has done an outstanding job." This spring Wharton moved from his position in ILL and became the Associate Head of Access Services, Head of Circulation Division in Widener. Amy Boucher, previously Head of Periodicals Division, took over for Wharton. She noted that the lending rank creates big shoes to fill, but that she is looking forward to continuing the excellent services provided by the division.

Widener's ILL also coordinates loans for HCL's Tozzer and Fine Arts libraries. Other Harvard libraries participate in OCLC separately, and others do not use OCLC for lending.

The top 20 New England OCLC lenders in 2002 were:

  1. Widener Library, Harvard University
  2. University of Massachusetts at Amherst
  3. University of Connecticut
  4. Boston College
  5. University of New Hampshire
  6. Williams College
  7. Bates College
  8. Yale University
  9. Northeastern University
  10. Brown University
  11. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  12. Tufts University
  13. University of Southern Maine at Portland
  14. Middlebury College
  15. University of Maine at Orono
  16. Wellesley College
  17. Mount Holyoke College
  18. Smith College
  19. Wesleyan University
  20. Boston University

18,075 loans
17,946 loans
17,579 loans
13,562 loans
16,216 loans
11,281 loans
11,267 loans
10,367 loans
9,204 loans
9,147 loans
9,100 loans
8,143 loans
8,106 loans
8,042 loans
7,996 loans
7,966 loans
7,738 loans
7,617 loans
7,490 loans
7,003 loans

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Last modified on Tuesday, September 16, 2003.