“In 2011, the STARS International Interlibrary Loan Committee wanted to assess international ILL from a more international perspective. A survey was created in SurveyMonkey, an online survey tool, and distributed to both U.S. and non-U.S. libraries via various electronic discussion lists and direct contacts with international libraries. 632 respondents began the survey, while 404 (63.9%) fully completed the
survey. Only the first question requesting acknowledgement of consent and voluntary participation was required, so the number of respondents varies from question to question.
The Committee’s goal was to uncover similarities and differences between U.S. and non-U.S. libraries’ international ILL activities. The Committee was particularly interested in whether the barriers to international ILL identified by U.S. libraries were shared by non-U.S. libraries. The STARS International Interlibrary Loan Committee plans to use the insight gained from the 2011 survey to identify and initiate
strategies to improve international resource sharing.
In recent years, resource discovery has become easier for users through enhancements in technology. The internet allows users to discover materials held by international libraries that were previously unknown to them. As a result, international ILL has become an increasingly important component of resource sharing. The lack of coherent procedures and communication methods among other potential
barriers makes it essential for ILL practitioners to gain a better understanding of international ILL activities and to use that knowledge to improve international cooperation. The International ILL Committee hopes that its efforts will improve ILL services for library users around the world.” – quoted in Background and Introduction of the 2011 Executive Summary
You can access the 2011 Executive Summary here.
Additionally, you can find a paper on the results of the survey, Going global: an international survey of lending and borrowing across borders, authored by Tina Baich and Heather Weltin, here.
