
by Brian Wolowitz, Adult and Teen Services Librarian
“The unread book is the life yet to be lived.” — Geoffrey O’Brien
If I were asked to name my personal favorite library service, I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment. In fact, I’ll seize any opportunity to shout from the virtual rooftops about the service known as interlibrary loan. Most of you are likely familiar with the local version of interlibrary loan (abbreviated as ILL), our resource-sharing partnership with the other libraries in the SWAN consortium (including our neighboring counterparts in Oak Park, Forest Park, and so on).
But you may not know that ILL can go much farther. The sweet secret of libraries, even a relatively small one like ours, is that we can fetch books and other media from libraries all across the United States. This allows our patrons to find materials beyond the walls of our building, beyond the collections of nearby libraries, and even beyond the electronic borders of our digital content. If you’re trying to hunt down something old, obscure, scholarly, out-of-print, or just an item that’s been overlooked by the local SWAN libraries, let us know about it—there’s a good chance we can root it out among the holdings of public and academic libraries nationwide, and have it delivered right here to the River Forest Public Library for you to check out.
What I find particularly charming about ILL is that, like a visit to a used book store, it can connect us to lost objects from the literary past. When I hold in my hand a vintage book obtained through ILL, looking at the retro aesthetic of the old pocket sleeve (the kind stamped with the names of borrowers from decades ago) and smelling the scent of antique paper, I feel a meaningful connection to a lineage of library workers and readers who came before me. The library will always be a source for the latest bestsellers and glossy new releases, but we can also maintain a relationship with yesteryear’s dusty treasures that we don’t have the space to keep on our own shelves. By helping you access media and culture from a bygone era, we’re doing our part to keep that culture alive.
My other fanciful notion about ILL is that there’s a whiff of magic or sorcery about it. With a few simple clicks and keystrokes, a librarian can summon these archival gems from faraway places—and a few days later they materialize on our desks, as if we had waved a magic wand or delivered an incantation and conjured the items into being. Of course, much of the credit for this “magic” goes to the U.S. Postal Service. To cover shipping costs, we may ask for a nominal fee for ILL items sent from out of state. (There will never be a fee for items sent from anywhere in Illinois.) I hope you’ll agree it’s a small price to pay for the privilege of embarking on so many lives yet to be lived.
Brian coordinates adult programming, and manages the fiction, mystery, Lucky Day, and large print collections. He has a BA in English from DePaul University and a Masters in Library Services from Dominican University. Brian has been working in libraries for over 10 years. An avid reader, Brian especially enjoys literary fiction that is witty and humorous. He is also a frequent moviegoer and can often be found at the city’s arthouse film venues like the Music Box and the Gene Siskel Film Center. Ask him for a movie recommendation!
Interested in placing an interlibrary loan? Visit our upstairs service desk for assistance or email us at reference@riverforestlibrary.org. Please note that we can only provide this service to River Forest Public Library Cardholders. If you’re not a River Forest Library cardholder, check with your home library. The majority of libraries offer this service.