Letter of appreciation to ILL

A library connection from East Carolina University to western Massachusetts led recently to a success in interlibrary loan and a letter of appreciation to ECU.

Various sailing photos are displayed on the inside pages of the book.

Rochelle Wildfong has been a children’s and interlibrary loan librarian for Meekins Library in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, since 1989. Following ECU’s loan of a book about seamanship to Meekins Library, Wildfong was compelled to write a letter to ECU’s interlibrary loan department in appreciation.

“Our patron, who spent years aboard various tall ships, thoroughly enjoyed reading this spectacular, in-depth book on seamanship,” Wildfong wrote. “We appreciate the reality of library systems across the country willing to loan out rarely read volumes, making it possible for our patrons to continue to be hopeful in the quest for books that are hard to find and out of state.”

This book was “Seamanship in the Age of Sail: An Account of the Shiphandling of the Sailing Man-of-War 1600-1860, Based on Contemporary Sources” by John Harland.

Arwen Parris is ALS’ interlibrary loan borrowing manager. William Gee serves as head of circulation and interlibrary loan.

ECU Academic Library Services is a high-lending library among southeastern research libraries, and a library repeatedly invited by the worldwide Online Computer Library Center resource sharing network to be part of its Express program. ECU libraries lend to and borrow from libraries across North Carolina, the entire U.S. and throughout the world. ECU ALS also has received four-stars for best practices by the Rethinking Resource Sharing Initiative.