License to Deny? Publisher restrictions on document delivery from e-licensed journals

Abstract

The licensing of electronic journals is affecting interlibrary loan and document delivery services. This article reports on a survey done in 2003 at 13 large research libraries on how licensing affects both the lending and borrowing operations at those libraries. A brief history on copyright legislation and guidelines as they relate to ILL are provided as background on how licenses can undermine the copyright support libraries have needed to provide the services users require. ILL data is presented to illustrate that the volume of use per title is not what publishers may imagine. The shift to leasing electronic titles and therefore the requirements that underlie licensing are still relatively new; the article recommends that libraries take every opportunity to converse and negotiate with publishers as access evolves.