Chapter 3. Borrowing

Abstract

Chapter 3 includes a detailed example of a typical workday for staff handling interlibrary borrowing requests. Individual sections in Chapter 3 provide further detail on the borrowing workflow: receiving requests, searching for suppliers, handling problem requests, and cancellations. Processing requests throughout the entire borrowing lifecycle is discussed.     

Borrowing trouble? The impact of a systematic review service on interlibrary loan borrowing in an academic health sciences library

Background:With the mandate to review all available literature in the study''s inclusion parameters, systematic review projects are likely to require full-text access to a significant number of articles that are not available in a library''s collection, thereby necessitating ordering content via interlibrary loan (ILL). The aim of this study is to understand what effect a systematic review service has on the copyright royalty fees accompanying ILL requests at an academic health sciences library.Case Presentation:The library created a custom report using ILLiad data to look specifically at 2018 ILL borrowing requests that were known to be part of systematic reviews. This subset of borrowing activity was then analyzed to determine its impact on the library''s copyright royalty expenditures for the year. In 2018, copyright eligible borrowing requests that were known to be part of systematic reviews represented only approximately 5% of total filled requests that involved copyright eligible borrowing. However, these systematic review requests directly or indirectly caused approximately 10% of all the Spencer S. Eccles Library copyright royalty expenditures for 2018 requests.Conclusion:Based on the sample data set, the library''s copyright royalty expenditures did increase, but the overall financial impact was modest.     

The Road Not Taken: SFX,ILLiad, and Interlibrary Loan Submission Methods

In Fall 2008, the interlibrary loan office at the College of Staten Island began to use ILLiad and SFX OpenURL to fulfill borrowing requests. Four years later a review showed that patrons used SFX to submit borrowing requests less than half the time. The majority of patrons’ borrowing request submissions were still being entered manually. We decided to review patron submission methods and see what impact this was having on transactions. We also explored possible patterns in order to encourage SFX usage and improve patron services. Reasons for this behavior are suggested and future solutions are explored.     

Interlibrary Loan Tsunami: Investigating the Rising Tide of Borrowing Requests at a Small Private University

Interlibrary loan borrowing statistics at Foley Center Library at Gonzaga University far exceeded those at other institutions in its affinity group. This study details an effort to explore the disparity by examining policies, statistics, and trends. A review of affinity group institutions’ interlibrary loan Web sites and a follow-up survey revealed minimal policy differences. Other factors examined included increases in electronic databases, enrollment, and usage patterns. The increased usage of interlibrary loan was warranted, yet workload management was still an issue. Subsequent procedure modifications resulted in a 23% reduction in article borrowing requests over a six-month period.     

Unnecessary Requests: Examining Patrons’ Reliance on Interlibrary Loan for Electronically Owned Items at an Academic Library

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Library analyzed 4,567 interlibrary loan borrowing requests for articles and other non-returnables. From 2017–2018, nearly 44% of requests were for items that the library owned electronically. Patrons could have accessed the full-text immediately but submitted interlibrary loan requests instead. This prevalence raises questions about user behavior and deficiencies in discovery tools.     

浅谈高职院校图书馆拒借的原因及对策

高职院校图书馆产生拒借的原因是馆藏数量不足，馆藏结构不合理、管理制度不够完善、工作人员的素质有限等；对策是优化馆藏，完善相关管理制度，提高工作人员的素质，利用现代化的手段拓宽为读者服务的范围等。     

The Impacts of Library Services on Interlibrary Loan Requests Canceled due to Local Availability

Abstract

Interlibrary loan (ILL) services receive requests for resources that are available locally and form a major portion of canceled requests. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between requests canceled due to local availability and three aspects to identify impacts on ILL. The authors explored library service aspects such as collection format, the link resolver knowledge base, and discovery system functionality for potential influence on requests for locally available resources. Quantitative methods were used to identify evidence of different aspects’ impact through analysis of ILL borrowing request data. The most important finding was that the discovery system had impact on ILL services by improving retrievability of locally available resources published recently. The results suggest that a modern discovery system can efficiently provide more relevant results sourced from a carefully curated set of authoritative resources, save users’ time to access available materials, and reduce library staff members’ time and effort. This study will be helpful to libraries through its analysis of library services that impact the cancelation of ILL requests due to local availability and how those services may influence service improvement.     

The nature of the use and users of the Midwest Regional Medical Library

Using a 10 percent random sample of all requests submitted to the Midwest Regional Medical Library during 1968-1969, this study has revealed that physicians constitute the user group making the most requests, that physicians request periodical materials most, that 86.6 percent of materials requested were for periodicals, and that over one-third of materials requested was more than ten years old. It was found that 66.3 percent of requests were filled, that "Pathology, Diseases, and Treatment" was the subject category with the highest percentage of requests, and that this category and Materia Medica were the subjects accounting for over 50 percent of the requests from all users. The subject categories most frequently requested by physicians were found to be the same (Pathology, Diseases, and Treatment and Materia Medica) as for educators and researchers. The most requests from students were in the Materia Medica and "other" subject categories. These findings are significant for drawing up acquisition policy for both the John Crerar Library, which supplies the physical facilities for the MRML, and the borrowing library which submits the requests for users.     

Collaborative Approaches to Resolving Difficult ILL Borrowing Requests: Using a Working Group and a Wiki for Knowledge Sharing

Interlibrary loan borrowing staff at the University of Arizona Main Library, who handle difficult interlibrary loan requests, are taking a collaborative approach to obtaining unique, difficult-to-locate materials. A working group within the document delivery team meets weekly to share examples processed during the preceding week to increase the fill rate of challenging interlibrary loan requests. The group also established a wiki for the purpose of sharing resources that have been used to solve difficult requests. The wiki serves as an advanced interlibrary loan training resource that can be accessed by a greater number of staff, enabling them to gain the skills necessary to process difficult requests.     

Purchase Instead of Borrow

Abstract

In seeking to provide a more cost-effective means to substitute for gaps in the collection the University of Hong Kong Libraries began to consider the feasibility of combining purchase with interlibrary loan borrowing in the fall of 2001. From 2002 the University of Hong Kong Libraries implemented a new initiative, called the “Overseas Book Loan Initiative,” to purchase interlibrary loan requests for locally unavailable monographs instead of borrowing them from overseas.

This paper presents the University of Hong Kong model of “purchase on demand,” and attempts to study whether purchase instead of borrow is a better alternative for the University of Hong Kong Libraries' situation, given the local factors and circumstances. The four underlying factors: speed, subsequent use, content appropriateness, and cost of transaction are examined by analyzing actual data collected.

Evidence from the study suggests that purchasing instead of borrowing is a better option if the library can continue to support the higher out-of-pocket costs to achieve the benefits of improving patron support, addingindemand materials to the collection, and optimizing the use of resources.     

Helping patrons find locally held electronic resources: An interlibrary loan perspective

The University of North Texas Libraries provide extensive online access to academic journals through major vendor databases. As illustrated by interlibrary loan borrowing requests for items held in our databases, patrons often have difficulty navigating the available resources. In this study, the Interlibrary Loan staff used data gathered from the ILLiad interlibrary loan management system to investigate why patrons request locally available materials. This study resulted in recommendations for the Libraries' linking strategies in EBSCOhost databases. Several user education needs were identified and communicated to the Libraries' Subject Liaisons.     

Interlibrary Loan Meets Six Sigma: The University of Arizona Library's Success Applying Process Improvement

In 2004, the University of Arizona Library Document Delivery Team embarked on a strategic project to assess the service quality and cost of filling interlibrary loan journal article borrowing requests. The Document Delivery Team utilized a Six Sigma Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control process improvement method. Improvements that were implemented as a result of this study led to increased satisfaction, decreased turnaround time, and lower cost per delivered article. Customer satisfaction surveys were utilized to discover customer expectations and requirements and to evaluate the effect of improvements on the customer experience. Measurement of internal business processes and cost analysis tools were used to determine cost savings.     

Impact of DOCLINE on interlibrary loan service at the National Library of Medicine

In March 1985, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) began implementation of DOCLINE, its automated interlibrary loan request routing and referral system. By the end of fiscal year (FY) 1987, over 1,400 biomedical libraries in all seven regions of the Regional Medical Library network were using the system. This report summarizes the findings of an analysis of the interlibrary loan (ILL) requests received in FY 1987, comparing the results with a similar analysis done in FY 1984 to describe any changes in the requests or service which might be attributable to DOCLINE implementation. DOCLINE has had a substantial impact upon ILL loan service at NLM. An increase in the number of ILL requests (35% over FY 1984) can be attributed to the speed and ease with which requests may be routed to NLM through DOCLINE. Requests which cannot be filled by local or regional libraries are automatically routed by the system to NLM as the library of last resort. NLM's fill rate for serial requests has declined, however, from 78% filled in FY 1984 to 67% filled in FY 1987. Some of the decline results from the 11,000 requests that NLM did not fill because the borrowing libraries were not willing to pay the NLM charge for filling the loans.     

Developing a Data Narrative: Analyzing Trends in an Academic Interlibrary Loan Department

Between 2010 and 2015, interlibrary loan request rates at Albertsons Library at Boise State University were observed to be in decline. This study details the efforts to explore this trend and to determine a cause using existing data available through the OCLC Atlas ILLiad Web Reports interface. A simple but effective method to analyze these substantial reports is presented and practical examples of analysis conducted at Albertsons Library are discussed. By looking at factors such as usage patterns, new user registrations, and cancelation language, the decrease in borrowing and lending requests was confirmed and attributed primarily to decreases in graduate student ILLiad registrations and a lending ebook deflection implemented in 2015. Additional, focused qualitative assessment and updates to user interfaces were recommended as a result of the study.     

Using Clio 1.2 with the ILL Microenhancer for Windows

ABSTRACT

Clio 1.2, the interlibrary loan records management software developed by Perkins and Associates, effectively tracks OCLC ILL transactions for both borrowing and lending. Clio is equipped to report statistical information, which it gathers as the user initiates or receives OCLC, ALA and fax requests. Interacting with OCLC's ILL Microenhancer for DOS and Windows, Clio 1.2 affords accurate and comprehensive information to its users and provides a number of access points to the database. Clio is another effective application software package that helps make the tracking of interlibrary requests manageable. This paper will cover and illustrate the larger elements of Clio and its operation.     

Cover Letter,Survey, and Survey Instructions for Interlibrary Loan Staff

ABSTRACT

Two macros are presented to track overdue ILL requests. The first tracks items your patrons have that are overdue, printing a report that includes the ILL#, due date, title of item, and patron info for each overdue record. The second macro tracks overdues that other libraries (as borrowers) have of your items, printing a report that includes the ILL#, the 3 letter symbol of the borrowing library, due date, status, and title of item for each overdue record.     

The state of ILL in the state of IL: the Illinois Interlibrary Loan Assessment Project

An 11-month survey of ILL activity in Illinois was conducted to study the borrowing and lending of journal articles within the state. OCLC “PILLR” (Prism Inter Library Loan Reports) management data were used to create a statewide database of ILL requests. The data were employed not only to answer questions about our statewide collection, but also to help pose and answer others questions. For example, what does it mean to have a statewide collection? What measurement tools can consortia employ to study, define, and evolve this statewide collection? What roles can resource sharing play in identifying gaps in the state’s collection? Is knowing what we don’t own (and need) as important as knowing what we own? How can libraries take advantage of the networked environment in conjunction with new measurement techniques to best serve the statewide clientele?The results of the study show that over 89,000 articles were borrowed for Illinois library users during the study period, and that most of these articles were located and borrowed within the state of Illinois. The study results also demonstrate the importance of multi-type libraries within a sharing consortium, as each library contributes to the research needs of a diverse population. In addition, 113 frequently requested titles not owned in Illinois were identified as cost-effective to own within the state based on out-of-state borrowing data and the cost/use ratio of the titles.     

QuickDOC: an interlibrary loan department in a microcomputer

Interlibrary loan (ILL) is a critical service in most libraries and one that may consume much staff time. QuickDOC, a software program written by a medical librarian, has been designed to expedite and organize the process of requesting loans, keeping records, and preparing reports on ILL activity. The software communicates with DOCLINE, the automated ILL and referral system of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), and simplifies the management of all borrowing and lending, regardless of how requests are transmitted. QuickDOC's creator is very responsive to suggestions from users and continues to enhance the capabilities of this excellent software package.     

Chapter VII: Decision Rules for Access

ABSTRACT

The Interlibrary and Document Delivery Services Department of the Randall Library at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington has been an active user of Innovative Interfaces Inc.'s ILL Module. Our association started with beta testing in the winter of 1994 and it continues today with release 2000. Since our first use of this module, UNCW has processed around 42,500 borrowing requests. This article reviews the use of the III ILL Module five years later.