Cutting Out the Middleman: Patron-Initiated Interlibrary Loans - Southern Illinois University library - Abstract

Library Trends, Summer, 1998 by Barbara G. Preece, Thomas L. Kilpatrick

This service has had a significant impact on the number of interlibrary loan transactions processed by Morris Library's Access Services staff (see Figure 2). In 1993, Morris Library borrowed 3,048 returnables from other ILCSO libraries. That number rose to 6,430 returnables in fiscal year 1994, an increase of 111 percent. Total filled requests also rose 50 percent during that time period. The number of items self-charged increased again in fiscal year 1995 but not to the extent that it had previously. This time the increase was by 38 percent and, by fiscal year 1996, the increase had slowed significantly to 19 percent, with 10,642 returnables received from ILCSO libraries. However, one must note that the number of returnables borrowed from ILCSO libraries in 1996 exceeds the total number of requests filled in 1993 by 393 items. Furthermore, the total number of items borrowed (returnables and non-returnables) rose 125 percent between 1993 and 1996. This increase was, of course, fuelled by the number of self-serve requests generated by SIUC patrons.

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OTHER REDESIGN EFFORTS

Two other patron-directed projects that were initiated in response to the NAILDD Project and the library's emphasis on better service to its patrons also contributed to the increase in ILL activity. OCLC's FirstSearch ILL option was activated in Fall 1994. While the requests received by this option are few when compared to items directly charged by Morris Library patrons, it does provide the option of initiating a request from a catalog and sending it directly to Morris Library's Access Services Department for processing. This speeds the submission of requests and assures Interlibrary Loan staff that they are working with accurate bibliographic data.

The library also initiated a project called Interlibrary Loan on the Web in fall 1994. It allows patrons who have access to a personal computer and a Web browser to submit interlibrary loan requests from any location day or night. This program began initially as an e-mail messaging system but has been revised to include Web forms that can be easily edited and transmitted to OCLC's ILL subsystem.

STAFFING ISSUES

How did the increase in filled requests impact staffing? In 1993, borrowing staff in the interlibrary loan unit consisted of one librarian, two FTE paraprofessionals, and seventy-five hours of student help. At that time, divisional librarians did the preliminary processing of requests, and the ILL librarian reviewed and approved each request before it was sent. By 1996, three years after the introduction of the self-serve option, the number of staff in borrowing had changed significantly. It now consists of 3.5 FTE paraprofessionals and 103 hours of student help (including 50 hours of graduate assistant help). The Assistant Access Services Librarian and librarians in the five divisional libraries now devote fewer hours to the ILL process. It is clear that the increase in self-serve interlibrary loans has increased the number of items borrowed, but it is also clear that the self-serve option does not require the extensive amount of professional time required previously to process requests. The emphasis on questioning procedures, streamlining operations, and reallocating resources has resulted in an operation that requires less professional staff time but results in better service. It is the question of better service that prompted the authors to study turnaround time as it applied to the various parts of its operation.