Community Outreach: Home Delivery and Books by Mail

Before starting this program, the library board  and staff will need to consider the following questions to create policies and procedures that will work for the library:

Eligibility:

• What factors determine if a person is eligible? (medical condition, family circumstances, patron preference, etc.)
• How will eligibility be determined (doctor's note, self-referral, librarian recommendation)?
• Can patrons be temporarily on this service? (Weather and short-term disabilities like surgery or postpartum recovery may render a person eligible for the service on a temporary basis)

Materials and Circulation:

• What materials are available for check out?
• Are the borrowing limits the same as if the person was in the building? (a library may choose to only deliver 10 items, for example, instead of 20 due to staff time and space)
• How will the library assess late, damaged, or lost material fees?
• Are renewals and Interlibrary Loans allowed?
• Will returns occur in the same method as delivery?
• How are materials chosen for a patron? (Patron request using catalog, patron request by phone/email, librarian selection?)
• Will the library be responsible for tracking materials patron has read to avoid duplication?

Delivery (home delivery services):

• Who will deliver materials?
• What vehicle will be used for delivery and what the possible repercussions of that choice? (liability insurance, mileage reimbursement, etc.)
• What type of container will be used for material drop-offs? (box, bag, tote, etc.)
• What occurs at the time of delivery? (readers advisory, conversation, recommendations, reviews of selected materials, only exchange of materials)
• Are staff or volunteers allowed to enter the home?
• Do patrons choose when they want materials delivered (on-demand service) or is there a set day/time that the library delivers? What happens if a patron misses a scheduled delivery or return?

Delivery (books by mail services):

• Will materials be mailed out only after items checked out are returned, or will they be mailed out on a regular basis to ensure the patron always has materials?
• What container will be used in the mail? (reusable postage bag, boxes, padded envelopes, etc.)

Below are examples of applications for home delivery services. These can be the same as library card applications, but if your library has eligibility restrictions, the application should have a space to address what makes them eligible. The application is also a place for the library to make sure they have the correct address, ask for day/time of delivery (if they are given a choice), material preferences, contact information, and making sure they agree to the policies.

Some libraries pick materials for their patrons rather than having them request specific titles. In order to do this successfully, they have the patron fill out a preferences worksheet that indicates genres, authors, and formats that they may like or dislike as well as any other specific requests. This helps staff choosing the materials be more successful in picking compatible materials.

Books by Mail services are a popular program for libraries with a service area that covers a large region that makes staff travel difficult due to weather or geography. These programs mail out library materials to eligible patrons that are either pre-selected based on their preferences or specifically requested by the patron. The patron then reads/listens/views the materials and returns them in the reusable bag and mails them back to the library.

When setting up a Books by Mail program, the library needs to consider much of the same items as Home Delivery, however, the two guides below highlight some of the aspects of this program that make the two programs different

Many small and rural libraries offer delivery as a part of their regular services but don't advertise it due to the sheer volume of requests they would receive; instead, they volunteer the service when a patron indicates a need. However, if the library has an outreach program or is looking to promote this program, a brochure at the checkout desk or in senior centers and clinic waiting rooms is a great way to get the word out.