Taking a break from answering ILLs over the holidays?

During Thanksgiving weekend last year there was a dramatic increase--more than tenfold--in the number of unanswered requests in the NHAIS ILL System. That happened because some libraries failed to let NHAIS Services know they wouldn't be processing ILL requests that long weekend. Let's aim to do better this year.

One of the conditions of the NHAIS Interlibrary Loan Agreement is that participants will "notify all ILL users if unable to respond to requests for an extended period." You can fulfill that obligation by notifying NHAIS Services of the details requested below. Failure to do this will contribute to slower fulfillment times in the system. When you let NHAIS Services know your library won't be processing ILLs, the system can route requests to other libraries that can provide timely responses.

We ask that libraries which will be unable to answer incoming requests for more than 3 consecutive days contact the NHAIS Help Desk (by e-mail or at 603-271-2141) with the following information:

 Name of library
 Town
 HSA code
 Start date for "vacation"
 Last date for "vacation"

Not sure about whether you've already done this? You can see if your ILL vacation dates are entered in the system by going to Staff Dashboard > ILL Admin > Participant Record > Holiday List (this requires logging in with a username that ends with either ill or all). You can't change what's on the page yourself but send NHAIS Services appropriate information as noted above and we'll take care of it.

Schools that have a predictable calendar of vacation times for the academic year are welcome to submit the School Closed Dates form at any time. We're happy to receive vacation information from any library weeks or months ahead of time--don't wait until 3 o'clock on Friday afternoon to contact NHAIS Services about a planned absence that starts the next day.

Need to suspend van delivery? Contact the State Library's circulation desk via e-mail or at 603-271-2616.