Massachusetts library enters 90 millionth OCLC ILL request

The Wellesley Free Library (OCLC symbol: WPF) in Wellesley, Massachusetts, entered the 90 millionth OCLC Interlibrary Loan (ILL) request for Acton Memorial Library, a member of the Metrowest Massachusetts Regional Library System. Wellesley provides ILL services for Metrowest. The March 29 request came almost 20 years to the day after OCLC activated the ILL subsystem on April 1, 1979.

The request was for the book Compulsive Gambling: Theory, Research and Practice. Boston College Library (OCLC symbol: BXM) in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, filled the request the next day.

Pamie Roy, interlibrary loan assistant, and Sue Kaler, interlibrary loan librarian, were entering requests at Wellesley when the record was hit by Ms. Roy.

"The request read ‘one,’ and we weren’t sure if the millionth should be a one or a zero," said Ms. Roy.

"Then, I remembered the OCLC Newsletter saying that when the 80 millionth was hit the record read one, and I said ‘Pamie, that may be it,’" said Ms. Kaler.

"We weren’t positive until Judith Carter [senior product support specialist, OCLC Product Management] called from OCLC," said Ms. Roy.

The OCLC ILL system displays seven digits and resets to 0000001 each 10 millionth record.

"I thought it was funny that the request was for a book on compulsive gambling, since hitting the millionth request in the first place is all chance," said Ms. Kaler. "I was pleased that Boston College shared in the millionth record by filling the request, because they’re very generous suppliers for us."

Located in Waltham, Massachusetts, the Metrowest Massachusetts Regional Library System links more than 260 academic, public, school and special libraries in 36 communities west of Boston. The Metrowest Region provides mediated ILL services through the Wellesley Free Library Interlibrary Loan Center. The service includes assistance in verifying items and transmitting requests for member libraries. The Interlibrary Loan Center also handles incoming requests on OCLC for materials from member libraries. The Wellesley Free Library handles ILL supply and demand for both Metrowest and the Minuteman Library Network (OCLC symbol: MLN).