Chatham-Kent Public Library officials say due to the drastic cuts to the Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS) budget, the free interlibrary loan (ILLO) service will end Friday, April 26.
This means Chatham-Kent Public Library (CKPL) will no longer be able to borrow materials for patrons from other library systems, universities or the Archives of Ontario.
“The cuts to SOLS and the ILLO service will greatly affect local history and family history researchers as well as distance education students across Chatham-Kent,” stated CEO Tania Sharpe in a media release.
“Many people also took advantage of this service to access books and materials that are out of print and not readily available. It saddens me that a service that allowed libraries to share their resources across all of Ontario in a cost effective way has been cancelled.”
Patrons who have materials currently borrowed on interlibrary loan are asked to return them immediately, library officials say.
Pending requests will not be filled and no new requests will be accepted.
Patrons may continue to submit purchase suggestions for materials that CKPL does not own.
To find out more about programs and events at Chatham-Kent Public Library, visit www.ckpl.ca.
