As we wrap up this month celebrating the love we have for Utah libraries, we want to share a service we love to provide. Did you know that the Utah State Library offers interlibrary loan service for libraries, library branches, and bookmobiles throughout Utah?

Sarah Pitkin, the interlibrary loan librarian at the Utah State Library has a superpower, finding things. When she receives a request from a member library, she is on the case. She works relentlessly to locate the item, communicate with the lender, and get the item in the hands of your library. In fiscal year 2024 Sarah received 14,673 requests and was able to fulfil 13,556 of them.  That’s a success rate of over 92%!

The process is simple.

Interlibrary loans are a great way for smaller libraries to expand  their collection without increasing their budget. There are a lot of other benefits too, like less staff time searching for items and negotiating with lenders, no need for additional IT support, lower processing times, and no lending fees. And libraries with a service population of less than 22,000 may be eligible for a grant that supplements the cost of postage and shipping materials, eliminating fees for patrons. 

Your local library doesn’t end here! It may reach further than you think.