If you’ve ever taken a look at the minutes of the LiLI Advisory Board meetings, you know that courier service has been a topic of interest in Idaho for quite some time. Some areas in the state have delivery service among libraries; these are often services associated with consortium participation. But, it’s a goal to bridge delivery services so that all libraries in the state can benefit from regular courier service.

Last week I and a colleague attended Moving Mountains: A Symposium Exploring Library Courier Services. We learned a great deal about the various types of delivery systems in place. Some groups hire their own drivers and provided their own vehicles. Many contract with courier vendors to provide the service. A few offer on-demand or point-to-point delivery where a call is made when an item is waiting to be picked up. Many more provide regular routes where a driver visits the library an specific days during a specified time window during the day; those drivers always follow the same route.

We learned that some companies base their charges on volume (weight, number of items) and others base their charges on number of stops on the route. We learned that there is not much in the way of standards regarding what an “item” is. Is it a book? Is it a box with more than one book in it? Is it a bin that can hold up to 20 or 30 books?

What was perhaps the most comforting among all we learned is this: We learned that we are not alone in our quest for delivery service. We are not alone in our challenges like winter weather, mountains, and rural geography.

A number of attendees at the event are interested in pursuing large regional systems of delivery: large multi-state efforts or even national. Our Interlibrary Loan service doesn’t stop at the state’s border; why should our delivery services?

I wanted to go into the meeting without any expectations of coming home with an answer to our courier needs. But, I’m human. Deep down, I hoped. It didn’t happen, but some other good things did happen.

I learned more about courier services.
I made some great contacts with others in nearby states.
I made some great contacts with courier vendors.

So, while there’s still no statewide courier service in Idaho today, we’re still working toward that goal. Stay tuned.