Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the literature concerning interlending and document supply and related matters. Design/methodology/approach -The approach is based on the reading of over 150 journals as well as monographs, reports and websites. Findings -Resistance to the Big Deals for journals is still growing -in particular because of the current budget cuts that are hitting libraries badly but publishers remain complacent. Interesting movements on the copyright front as the Hargreaves report in the UK is accepted by the government and the STM Association gets upset. Patron driven acquisition receives a lot of attention in the literature -when will the world outside of the US pay as much attention? Originality/value -The paper represents a useful source of information for librarians and others interested in document supply and related matters such as resource sharing and open access.