Gladys Fung has been a member of the Libraries’ Resource Sharing department staff for 18 of her 28 years at York University. Resource Sharing supplements the resources of the York University Libraries by making available research materials from other libraries, organizations and document delivery services to York faculty, students and staff.  Here, she tells us about her work.

YUL News: What are your responsibilities as a Resource Sharing Assistant, and how do you contribute to the Resource Sharing department’s activities?

GF: My job is to support the academic research needs of York faculty and graduate students, as the primary users of interlibrary loan services, by locating and requesting research materials from libraries around the world as quickly and efficiently as possible.  My particular focus is on the borrowing of requested materials. The Libraries borrow books, newspapers, journals, theses and dissertations, conference proceedings, archival papers, manuscripts, microfiche etc. from libraries worldwide. All interlibrary loan requests by York patrons are routed through RACER (see sidebar).

YUL News: Take us through your typical day in Resource Sharing. How do you assist York’s faculty with their research and teaching needs?

GF: I work in an open office area with a small group of colleagues, dealing with patrons at the counter, on the phone or email, and discussing borrowing aspects of requests as necessary. I also provide information assistance daily at the Info Desk on the second floor of Scott.

When a faculty member or graduate student makes an online request for materials through interlibrary loan via RACER, I review it for completeness, noting any special instructions or deadlines specified by the requester. I also deal with special requests e.g. manuscripts, some of which can be difficult to obtain.

I check first to see if the material is in the York system. If we don’t have it, I check other sources – print, online databases, individual library catalogues and online bibliographic utilities (OCLC, Amicus).  If the standard verification/location resources are exhausted I can send a “blind” request to a supplier if I have some sense of where it might be located, based on their other holdings.

Throughout the day I advise on item availability and available options for interlibrary loan.

YUL News: What do you like best about your Resource Sharing work?

GF: The best part of this job is that it’s detective work. For some of the tougher requests, I clarify users’ requirements, analyze problems and think creatively to locate the requested materials. Before computers, we consulted many print sources to find requested items. Now, with online resources, it’s both easier and more difficult; easier because more resources are available and accessible; more difficult because our patrons know about, and ask for, many more materials, and we search through many more resources on a daily basis. I enjoy a happy and encouraging work environment here and am able to maintain a healthy work/life balance.

Gladys at her desk

YUL News: What’s your biggest challenge in the work?

GF: The electronic world has changed what we do so much. Expectations for turnaround time are higher now. Though we try, it isn’t always possible to obtain materials quite as quickly as people expect them.  But a user’s appreciation when you are able to fill their request is worth more than anything (see sidebar, above).

YUL News: Do you have any interesting stories about providing resource sharing services?

GF: Yes!  Some years ago, we requested a foreign dissertation that had to be purchased for us.  The item finally arrived – but four years after the student who requested it had graduated!  Another time, we ordered hundreds of microfilms; the box was stopped at the border and searched.  When we received it, all the films had been unwound from their reels and mixed up together.  What a job putting all that back in order!

YUL News: What’s the furthest or most “exotic” library an item has ever had to come from?

GF: Two items: one was a map we were able to obtain from Iran, and the other was a doctoral thesis from an African library, the only such item that I’ve seen in 18 years.

YUL News: What are your interests outside work?

GF: I’m an active fitness participant (on my lunch hour you’ll find me at one of the York fitness centres), and have been an avid tennis player for the past 25 years. Another passion is travelling – I’ve been to Europe, Japan, Taiwan, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and there are a lot of places I still want to visit.  I enjoy the food, the people and their culture.