Usage of electronic journals and their effect on interlibrary loan: A case study at the University of Nevada, Reno

As libraries increase their electronic journal collections, would dependence on interlibrary loan decrease? This paper reports a case study at the University of Nevada, Reno, University Libraries (UNR) focusing on the usage of the Elsevier online journal package and interlibrary loan (ILL) borrowing activities. It analyzes four-years' worth of UNR usage and ILL statistics, gathered between July 1999 and June 2003. It also provides observations and explanations from a perspective beyond statistics, at the level of library services and the campus demographic and research environments.