Changing returnable requests to non-returnable and vice versa
Attentive ILLers will note something new at the bottom of the Lender's Full Record Display for returnable requests in Pending or Will Supply/In Process status. It's an option to attach an electronic document, giving you an alternative to sending photocopies of pages through the van service.
The option has always been there for non-returnable requests and it was supposed to be there for returnable requests as well. Without it, lenders couldn't change a returnable request to non-returnable. When would they need to do that? Very rarely--but it did come up recently when the State Library received a request for an older booklet that was just a few pages and it was determined it would be easier to scan the pages into a PDF and electronically send that than to package the item for van transport. Another circumstance might be a borrower note saying they just needed to see pages 48-50 or just wanted the bibliography. Without that Upload Document button displaying on a returnable request, though, it couldn't be changed in the system to non-returnable. You could select Shipped (non-returnable) from the status change options but nothing would change when you hit Submit.
Now that the Upload Document button is displayed, you can attach your file and then choose Shipped (non-returnable). Once you see an address in the Document URL field (immediately above the Upload Document button), you can hit Submit. This can only be done on the Lender's Full Record Display, reached by clicking on the title in the status list.
It's more common to change non-returnable requests into returnable ones. Travel guides and exam prep books are frequently cataloged as serials, which are treated as non-returnable requests by the ILL program. Chances are the person requesting the latest PSAT/NMSQT practice book or Paris travel guide wants to borrow the whole thing, not just get photocopies of a few pages. Dealing with that is shown in the 5-minute video Placing ILL Requests: Travel Guides.
To see attaching documents to a request in action--and retrieving them later--watch the 18-minute video Placing ILL Requests: Copies from Magazines.
Remember that the ILL program treats returnable and non-returnable requests differently when the borrower marks the request Received. For non-returnables, the request immediately changes to Complete status. Returnables go to Received status and will need to be returned by the borrower and checked in by the lender before becoming Complete. In statistics reports, you'll see returnable requests called loans while non-returnables are labeled copies.
