Opening interlibrary loan to open access

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine interlibrary loan requests for open access materials submitted during fiscal years 2010 and 2011 and to determine the impact of open access materials upon fill rate for interlibrary borrowing requests.Design/methodology/approachBorrowing requests for open access materials were quantitatively analyzed and compared to total borrowing requests.FindingsDuring the period studied, borrowing requests for open access materials increased while overall requests held steady. As the number of requests filled with open access documents continues to rise, Indiana University‐Purdue University Indianapolis University Library is able to provide a service to users and cost savings for the library by utilizing this material. The difficulty users have in navigating the online information environment makes it unlikely that interlibrary loan requests will decrease due to the growing amount of open access material available.Originality/valueThe literature discussing the use of open access materials to fulfill ILL requests is limited and largely focuses on educating ILL practitioners about open access and providing suggested resources for locating open access materials. This research paper studies actual requests for open access materials and their impact on interlibrary loan.

Open Access Complements Interlibrary Loan Services, but Additional User Education is Needed

“…This finding is true both for the fiscal years reported in this study and also the years since the author's original study in 2011 (Baich, 2012). Of the 1,557 OA requests examined, 72% (n=1,135) were for journal articles, 8% (n=125) were for books or book chapters, 9% (n=140) were for theses or dissertations, 3% (n=54) were for conference papers, and 7% (n=105) were for reports.…”

The Development of Resource Sharing, Scholarly Communication, and the Role of Publishers in the Context of Academic Libraries

“…ILL practitioners have been locating and sending to researchers mate-rials available for free on the internet since the beginning of widespread use of Google. Tina Baich (2012), writing on the topic of the effects of OA on ILL, notes Karen Kohn's 2006 article which emphasizes savings on borrowing fees. Rebecca A.…”

“…DOAJ is funded by sponsors, members, and publisher members, which include domestic and international library consortia and commercial publishers (https:// doaj.org/). Baich (2012) quotes Morrison (2006), who quotes Mike Mc-Grath: "[OA] is one of the reasons for the decline in document delivery in so many countries" (McGrath 2005, 43). However, Baich notes Morrison's response: "A decrease in routine interlibrary loan requests, combined with an increase in more complex requests requiring more expert knowledge" (Morrison 2006, 106).…”

“…This factor has transferred to the online world as well, and not just for IP-protected licensed materials. Baich (2012) wrote that at her institution, IUPUI, requests filled with OA materials were increasing even as overall ILL request numbers were otherwise relatively flat. In 2015, Baich reported that "the current inconsistency in discovery of open access content through a Google or Google Scholar search has a negative impact on user discovery" (69).…”

A farewell from the editor to Interlending and Document Supply

“…On the other hand, there is a demand for skilled searching in an increasingly complex environment. These skills are of course bread and butter for ILL librarians, and I reference how one library in the USA deals with identifying articles that have been requested via ILL (Baich, 2012). It becomes increasingly important to check if requested material is freely and easily available.…”