Buyer Beware: Using Interlibrary Loan Requests in Purchasing Decisions

Abstract

The article deals with using Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests as a tool for collection development. In the past a fair amount has been written touting the advantages of this technique. A flurry of activity took place in the early 1990's, highlighted by a 1991 review of the subject by F. K. Rottman. Some writers, including Jo Ann Lahmon, describe systems for tracking the information in a useful manner, while others such as Suzanne Ward describes purchase-on-demand programs. The Purchase Express program at the University of Virginia even aims to have the book in a patron's hand within seven days. In her Library to library column Mary Jackson discussed three main areas in which ILL statistics can aid in collection development. She maintains that they help us to identify missing items, to select possible journal additions and to purchase appropriate monographs. In its "Guide to the Evaluation of Library Collections," ALA's Resources and Technical Services Division states that interlibrary loan requests are generally acknowledged to be indicators of unmet research demand on the part of the library's users. These analyses may be used to identify areas where the collection is not satisfying patron needs.; The article deals with using Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests as a tool for collection development. In the past a fair amount has been written touting the advantages of this technique. A flurry of activity took place in the early 1990's, highlighted by a 1991 review of the subject by F. K. Rottman. Some writers, including Jo Ann Lahmon, describe systems for tracking the information in a useful manner, while others such as Suzanne Ward describes purchase-on-demand programs. The Purchase Express program at the University of Virginia even aims to have the book in a patron's hand within seven days. In her Library to library column Mary Jackson discussed three main areas in which ILL statistics can aid in collection development. She maintains that they help us to identify missing items, to select possible journal additions and to purchase appropriate monographs. In its "Guide to the Evaluation of Library Collections," ALA's Resources and Technical Services Division states that interlibrary loan requests are generally acknowledged to be indicators of unmet research demand on the part of the library's users. These analyses may be used to identify areas where the collection is not satisfying patron needs.