Book Availability Revisited: Turnaround Time for Recalls versus Interlibrary Loans

Abstract

Librarians typically view interlibrary loan (ILL) as a means of providing access to items not owned by the local institution. However, they are less likely to explore ILL’s potential in providing timely access to items locally owned, but temporarily unavailable, particularly in the case of monographs in circulation. In a two-part study, the authors test the assumption that, on average, locally owned books that a patron finds unavailable (due to checkout) can be obtained more quickly via recall than via ILL. Phase 1 of this study establishes an average turnaround time for circulation recalls in a large academic library for comparison with well-established turnaround times for ILL borrowing transactions. In Phase 2, a more rigorous paired study of recalls and ILL compares the ability of each system to handle identical requests in real time. Results demonstrate that, under some circumstances, ILL provides a reasonable alternative to the internal recall process. The findings also underscore the need for more holistic, interservice models for improving not just access, but also the timeliness of access, to monograph collections.

Demand-Driven Acquisitions for Print Books: How Holds Can Help as Much As Interlibrary Loan

“…Instead of relying on ILL to fill requests for items that libraries own but are checked out, libraries should consider the potential impact on user satisfaction and collection development if librarians purchased more local copies based on long holds queues and ILL. Gregory and Pedersen (2003) demonstrate that ILL is faster when holds queues are long. They recommend that a second hold in the holds queue should generate an automatic ILL request since it is likely that that patron would get the book faster than waiting until they are the top hold in the queue (p. 296).…”

“…Much ILL literature focuses on timeliness. One such study by Gregory and Pedersen (2003) examines ILL turnaround time with holds queue turnaround time, illustrating how ILL may be a faster alternative to local holds in certain cases. Gregory and Pedersen found that the turnaround time for a book with only one user in the holds queue (i.e., the next user to obtain the book) is typically faster than an ILL request; once the queue is increased, however, an ILL request may get the book faster.…”

Replacing Recalls with Interlibrary Loan: The University of Houston's QuickLoan Service

“…Gregory and Pederson (2003) conducted an extensive study of the relative turnaround times for recalled items versus items borrowed through Interlibrary Loan at the Iowa State University library. Their findings showed no statistically significant difference in turnaround times for the two services (p. 293, 294), although recalls were slightly faster under their local circumstances.…”

The Future of Access Services: Should There Be One?

“…Staff in this newly integrated department can follow a protocol to determine how to get an item for a patron (will they order via the circulation module using the NCIP protocol, or use a national utility, or recall an item?) (Gregory & Pedersen, 2003).…”