Summer Reading is in full swing, and many of you are logging what you are reading aiming for a goal. What should you do if there is something that you have been wanting to read that we don't have here at the Lafourche Parish Public Library? That is what InterLibrary Loan--called ILL for short--is for!
All of the public libraries in Louisiana have an agreement to loan books and other materials to each other. Many of the university libraries are in on it too! If your search of our catalog comes up empty, ask the staff at your favorite branch about putting in a request for the book or movie you're looking for. If there is a single library in the state of Louisiana that is willing to ship it to us, we will do everything in our power to make sure it gets to you. Shipping times vary, so you may need to be patient, but we will do our best to keep you updated. If you can't or don't want to talk to the staff for any reason, we have a form online as well. You can find it here.
I'll also let you in on a little secret. The librarian in charge of picking out the materials we buy for our collection keeps an eye on the ILL requests, too. Many of the books and movies on our shelves today are there because she found out about them that way. Asking us to get you something can lead to other people in your community discovering their favorite author or series because they found it on a library shelf.
The more you use the library, the better the library can be at meeting your needs. Don't be afraid to ask for what you want!