[Gift article] #Maine interlibrary loan [#ILL] system on hold for weeks because of contract dispute
#Library directors throughout the state say temporarily losing the book sharing will be a challenge going into their busiest time of year.
by Gillian Graham
June 6, 2024
"On any given day, the Scarborough Public Library receives up to a dozen crates packed full of books borrowed from other libraries across the state and sends out nearly as many. Over the course of a year, nearly 60,000 books come and go from the town library through the statewide #interlibrary loan program, which allows patrons to borrow books from other libraries at no cost.
"But that borrowing is on hold at more than 200 public, school, academic and special libraries across Maine – and is likely to be unavailable for most of the summer – while the state navigates a legal appeal over its contract for the delivery of those books.
"Chip Schrader, director of the Scarbrough Public Library, stands next to crates on Wednesday that are usually full of interlibrary loan books. The interlibrary loan service could be on hold for much of the summer because of a legal dispute over the contract for the service that delivers the books. Schrader says that they typically receive about eight crates of books a day through the interlibrary loan service.
"'We feel like we’re trying to thread the needle a little bit. We’re trying to be understanding of all sides of this issue, and our patrons are as well,' said Chip Schrader, director of the Scarborough library. 'But it’s a big hiccup in services for us. It’s definitely going to interrupt the natural flow and is making our staff a little anxious.'
"The current state contract had already been extended for a year and ends on June 30. The #MaineStateLibrary, which is in charge of arranging this service, went through a competitive request for proposals earlier this year and selected STAT Courier to take over delivery starting in July. But an unsuccessful bidder filed an appeal and the state library cannot sign a new contract until that appeal is settled.
"Maine State Librarian Lori Fisher said she could not name the unsuccessful bidder or talk about the bids because the attorney general’s office has advised her not to. Fisher also would not disclose the amount of the winning bid because of the pending litigation. In a post on its website, the state library said all bids came in 'considerably higher' than current costs and that the annual cost for libraries to use the service is still being calculated.
"Maine InfoNet, which coordinates library systems statewide, notified all libraries on Monday that it was turning off all new requests the following morning, and it could be offline for at least six weeks."
