Thought of the Day - Interlibrary Loan Requests

No library can provide all items to all patrons, no matter how big it is. I worked for the Research Library of NYPL from 1983-90. People were always asking for materials that we didn't have. There was a myth that NYPL had everything and had a telephone reference service that could answer any question. Anyway, the NJIT Library always has budgetary problems and often graduate students and faculty rely on the interlibrary loan service. I remember one graduate student who complained that she had to order everything she needed from outside. What bothers me is when people don't bother to look things up in our catalog or journals listing to see if we have the item they need. They essentially waste their own time.