Opening interlibrary loan to open access | Emerald Insight

Abstract

Purpose

The 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/approach

Borrowing requests for open access materials were quantitatively analyzed and compared to total borrowing requests.

Findings

During 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/value

The 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.