Interlibrary Loan Requests Canceled Due to Availability: Problem or Opportunity?

Abstract

The phenomenon of library users attempting to use interlibrary loan to obtain items that are already available at their home libraries appears to be an ongoing problem among academic libraries. This study examines the problem in the context of a midsized academic library and compares the results to those of two previous, similar studies. Possible reasons for the phenomenon are discussed along with ideas for addressing the problem. The idea that this may represent an opportunity to satisfy an unmet demand for document delivery of locally held items is explored.

KEYWORDS:

• interlibrary loan
• ILLiad
• academic libraries
• document delivery
• electronic document delivery
• campus delivery
• desktop delivery
• print materials
• locally held items