What do you do when the perfect book, article or other resource that you need for your research is not available at a Texas State University library? You make an InterLibrary Loan request. Most often the item you need can be found at another library somewhere in the country or even beyond and can be borrowed and delivered for your use.
For library patrons, it’s a simple process. Just fill out and submit the online form and wait to be notified that it is ready for pickup from the third floor checkout desk at the Alkek Library. But behind the scenes the puzzlemaster and her crackerjack team go to work to find the quickest option for locating and borrowing the item you need (on average within 23 hours).
The puzzlemaster is Michelle Williams, Texas State’s Interlibrary Loan Specialist. She and her team process all of the Interlibrary Loan requests for people asking to borrow materials from other libraries and from other libraries asking to borrow from Texas State.
“Interlibrary Loan is a service provided to all current faculty, staff and students that benefits our university community greatly. It provides resources that we don’t have here by borrowing from other universities and public libraries across the country. It’s an amazing service I think everyone should know about and take advantage of for research.” Williams said.
The sleuthing work begins when the request is received. Williams and her team use online tools to identify which libraries have the item. Next, they cross-check that list with libraries where we have reciprocal agreements looking for options where we can get the materials free of charge, if possible. Next, they look for the most local library that can get the item to us as soon as possible. Once they have found the best option, they make a request to borrow the item and soon it is on its way.
But Michelle Williams is more than just your hero when you need a book from a library that happens to be states away, she is a puzzle-loving, sports mom who loves to spend time with her three children.
“I love puzzles. I like anything that has to do with problem solving—puzzles, jigsaw, sudoku, crosswords or trivia. It relates to my job and it’s also personal. It’s that problem solving I use everyday here at Alkek, I like that it keeps my mind going on my downtime,” Williams said.
Williams gets great satisfaction from solving puzzles both professionally and for fun.
“I did this puzzle once, it was of the United States. It had around 1000 pieces. It was very intricate and detailed because it had all the cities and the capitals on it. It was very challenging, but I also had that feeling of accomplishment when I completed it,.” Williams said.
When she is not doing puzzles, Williams is very busy being a mom.
“I have two adult children and my daughter is in high school, so I’m that sports mom. With volleyball, track, and her academics she keeps me really busy.”
“My favorite thing about [working at] Alkek is the sense of community that we have here,” Williams said. “It’s like we’re a family. We all work together collectively to reach goals for our students, researchers and professors, and I like the unity that we show when we come together.”
Next time you need something that isn’t available from the library, throw that challenge to Michelle and the rest of the Interlibrary Loan team. Chances are they can solve your puzzle and find the research materials you’ve been searching for!
This article was contributed by Carin Carlin, University Libraries Social Media Student Assistant, and Debbie Pitts, Marketing and Promotions Coordinator.