Open access: help or hindrance to resource sharing?

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine interlibrary loan (ILL) requests for open access materials submitted during fiscal years 2012 and 2013 and to consider the implications of open access for resource sharing. Design/methodology/approach – Borrowing requests for open access materials were quantitatively analyzed and compared to total borrowing requests and open access borrowing requests from the previous two fiscal years. Findings – During the period studied, borrowing requests for open access materials increased, while overall requests held steady. The difficulty users have in navigating the online information environment makes it unlikely that ILL requests will decrease significantly due to the growing amount of open access material available. Originality/value – The literature discussing the relationship between open access and ILL has expanded in recent years, but largely focuses on the negative impact of open access on resource sharing. This paper presents an update on previous research and provides contradictory evidence that the number of borrowing requests for open access documents continues to grow. Open access should be embraced as a help to resource sharing. This article is of great value to ILL practitioners looking for effective ways of identifying open access ILL requests.

Promoting Interlibrary Loan in the Traditional Catalog and Discovery Layer: Two Pilot Projects

“…Thanks to growing use of open access article repositories, an increasing number of ILL requests can be filled from personal, institutional, or subject-specific repositories. 14 Because many articles are now posted to repositories and are therefore findable via Google Scholar and other search engines, the authors wondered how Google Scholar results might be incorporated into their library's discovery search results screen.…”

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

“…Using 12 years of literature reviews created for Interlending & Document Supply, McGrath (2015) determined rates are decreasing globally, except in the United States (p. 75). There has been some belief that the proliferation of open access materials will decrease ILL requests: however, Baich (2015) observed that despite stable overall borrowing rates, requests at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis for openly accessible materials increased during the study period, likely as a result of discoverability issues. The Association of Southeastern Research Libraries, as studied by Atkins, Greenwood, and Whaley (2014) showed a slight, 2% decrease in the average number of total requests between 2010 and 2013 (p. 19).…”

Bringing Open Access into Interlibrary Loan with the Open Access Button

“…Interlibrary loan can aid discovery of open access materials, and by connecting users to open access materials that are free, libraries can potentially save significant borrowing fees incurred by an average interlibrary loan. 43 During a two-year period, the Resource Sharing & Delivery Services Department of Indiana University-Purdue University filled 1,557 requests with open access materials, saving a potential cost of $27,247.50 for borrowing the requested items through interlibrary loan based on an estimate of $17.50 per borrow transaction. 44 The mutual benefits of increasing use of open access materials and saving interlibrary loan costs would be further extended through the Open Access Button request system, which would increase immediate access and further lower costs if requests were fulfilled.…”