Web Challenge thing #9 - WorldCat

You know, I wonder why we don't use WorldCat more often in filling out our ILL forms? I suppose one reason is that when we are being trained, we are often told that it is best just to tell folks that it will take a minimum of three weeks to get their books but that it usually takes much longer (what seems like an attempt to discourage customers from asking us to ILL something for them). Another reason is that we have customers who insist on filling out the forms themselves - they know what books they want and they may even be able to get the ISBN correct but they may or may not understand the ILL process. I would also venture a guess that most libraries have one person who is the "ILL person" and that person does all the initial quality control work on the ILL forms. Since most of the work of ILL goes on in a centrally located department, I don't think many of us give it much thought - maybe we should!

It was interesting to search WorldCat for one of my older books: Reflections on the Gift of a Watemelon Pickle - a book of poems that some how became very popular at my high school. I think nearly everyone of the girls in my class had a copy - maybe it was being taught in the poetry section of lit. that year? Anyway, it was interesting to see which libraries near my zip code owned it (very few, I think Princeton was the closest).

I also searched for Marjorie Morningstar and was pleased to see that the movie popped up as well as the book, although the book covers didn't seem like the ones I remember from my childhood when MM was considered pretty wild reading.

I don't think I got much out of searching for the Ocean County history but it was interesting to see what libraries owned it.