SWIMS Network Seamless Borrowing Policy
Date of next review: April 2017
The SWIMS Board has agreed:
 That ILLs and seamless borrowing are treated as separate matters and that ILLs
are outside the remit of this paper. ILLs are defined as user access to stock of
other libraries mediated by library services. Seamless borrowing is defined as
user access to stock of other libraries with no library mediation. Matters with
regard to ILLs are covered in detail in the document “Standards for Inter-Library
Document Supply” available on the SWIMS Network website at
http://www.swimsnetwork.nhs.uk/membership/policies/.
 That seamless borrowing should be offered SWIMS Network wide, according to
the following permissions matrix:
Borrow items in stock in
person
Borrow remotely, i.e.
request items to be sent
Reserve items for later
collection in person
Return loan items to
own home library
Renew items at home
library
Items located at home library
Y
According to home library policy
Items located at non-home library
Y (at the discretion of the non- home
library)
N – use ILL services at home library
According to home library policy
According to local policy
Y
Pay fines on items at
home library
Y, if applicable
Request photocopy of
item in stock
Request interlibrary
loan
According to home library policy
N – must be returned to library from
which borrowed
N – must be renewed directly with
library where borrowed (NB note
WebView self-renew)
N – fines must be paid directly to
library where items borrowed - in
person or by post
N – use ILL services at home library
According to home library policy
N – use ILL services at home library




Y
That all SWIMS Network libraries support the spirit of seamless borrowing, even if
local variations with regard to loaning are necessary to support the needs of the
home library. These should be fully explained to end users and affected library
services. See the SWIMS Network website user records FAQs at
http://www.swimsnetwork.nhs.uk/modules/circulation/ for further discussion of
this, and the Local Variations section below.
That it is at the discretion of a library whether they register non-home users. Full
details of recommended policy on registration of non-home borrowers are in the
SWIMS Network website user record FAQs linked above.
That SWIMS cards are used for SWIMS borrowing – this will reduce confusion for
both end users and desk staff and reinforce the identity of SWIMS and SWIMS
libraries. It is noted that agreement has been made for BRI to stick barcodes to
Trust ID badges in place of SWIMS cards for some users.
That users are fully responsible for loan items borrowed seamlessly until they
have arrived back at the location from which they were borrowed, including if
they are returned according to the local variation described below.




That consistent policies are applied with regard to lost cards etc – see the SWIMS
Network website user record FAQs linked above for full details.
That the SWIMS Network web pages, and in particular the FAQs, will be the
repository for mandatory and recommended practice with regard to seamless
borrowing.
That seamless borrowing should be administered on a reciprocal basis with no
reference to funding. SWIMS statistics can be collected to monitor usage
patterns.
That this paper is to be reviewed at least every two years.
Local Variations
For loaning
Local variation may be needed to support the needs of the home library, while still
supporting the spirit of seamless borrowing. Examples of variations might be for a
Trust with a specialist collection to support a research team, or to retain stock within
NHS Libraries that has been purchased by HEI’s for their students being taught within
NHS Trusts. This is also discussed in the SWIMS Network website FAQs linked above.
As an example, when issuing to a borrower from a non-home library, RCH and PLY
issue books direct to the borrowers’ library, and treat the loans as ILLs. This helps to
safeguard stock purchased by HEI’s by issuing under the home libraries terms (rather
than those of the borrowers library), while still supporting the spirit of seamless
borrowing. In this example, the lending library ensures that the borrower is aware of
how the books are being issued, and provides the borrowers home library with full
details (which can then be noted on any ILL system as appropriate).
For returning and renewing
Local variations for returning include where library services, whether in a single
service or in a geographical area, have specifically arranged with each other that
users may return their loans to any of the libraries within this arrangement.
Local variations for renewing include where library services, whether in a single
service or in a geographical area, have specifically arranged with each other that
loans from any of the libraries within the arrangement may be renewed by staff at
any of the libraries within the arrangement.
Version
Date
Author
Comments
1.0
10/2/2006
JT
Final version as ratified by SWIMS Project Board
2.0
15/04/2015
TA/JT
Updated to include minor updates and worked examples of
local variations, agreed by SWIMS Network Board