The library directors liked the idea so much that we were given the go-ahead for a pilot service. We arranged a much-needed session with the various heads of the circulation departments, and with the technical solution in place, we ironed out the necessary policies. I have always believed that technology happens faster than policy, and this case was no exception. Now admittedly, I am not a policy wonk. I think we have too many rules that set up unnecessary barriers to good service.
Libraries are great at dreaming up worst-case scenarios.
The biggest challenge we faced in creating the service had to do with gleaning enough information from a patron record to determine that Henry or Grace or George is a patron in good standing. Nevertheless, the good standing information is there, and I was placated by seeing two radical aspects of the service make their way into the agreement. First, it is always up to the lending library to decide whether or not to lend a book. The kinks are not all worked out, and publicity for the service is still light, but it has been the most productive cooperative endeavor, considering its scale, of which I have ever been a part. Now I could stop there, but I am high on the feeling of good librarianship.