For years my public library charged a $3 fee to get a book sent from another library in the system.
At some point I was chatting with a librarian about this and she revealed they had eliminated the fee so as not to discourage the use of interlibrary loans.
I few weeks later I tried checking out something from another library and was then treated to a 10 minute lecture on how it costs them $20 to process these loans and am I really sure I want it.
No thanks. I'll just get it for a penny plus $3.99 shipping from amazon, less than the cost of gasoline to drive into town to order it, pick it up, and return it (3 round trips).
At some point I was chatting with a librarian about this and she revealed they had eliminated the fee so as not to discourage the use of interlibrary loans.
I few weeks later I tried checking out something from another library and was then treated to a 10 minute lecture on how it costs them $20 to process these loans and am I really sure I want it.
No thanks. I'll just get it for a penny plus $3.99 shipping from amazon, less than the cost of gasoline to drive into town to order it, pick it up, and return it (3 round trips).