Quick Summary
The Canadian postal worker strike caused disruptions to interlibrary loan services, with USPS suspending mail deliveries to Canada. The University of Minnesota's Documents to U team adapted by using alternative shipping methods, while Canadian libraries faced greater challenges.
The Canadian postal worker strike created some challenges for shipping interlibrary loan items to Canadian libraries. On November 29, 2024, the United States Postal Service (USPS) suspended mail and package deliveries to Canada due to the strike. Although the strike ended on December 17, 2024, USPS continued the suspension until January 6, 2025, to clear the backlog of mail and packages that accumulated during the disruption.
During this period, Documents to U staff (responsible for sending interlibrary loan lending materials for the University of Minnesota) adapted by using alternative carriers to send library items. However, these options were more expensive, and the minor differences in the customs form in SendPro created a slight change in our international shipping process. Despite the challenges, we managed to maintain some level of service, however, the disruption affected Canadian libraries more significantly. For example, the University of Winnipeg updated their website to announce that “Print books and other physical materials will not be available via interlibrary loan for the duration of the Canada Post strike.” Many other Canadian libraries shared similar updates.
Thankfully, everything is back to normal, and we’ve resumed our regular workflow for interlibrary loan requests to Canadian libraries.
