How the digital era has transformed ILL services in Japanese university libraries: a comprehensive analysis of NACSIS‐ILL transaction records from 1994 to 2008

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify and examine the factors that affected the scale of ILL photocopy requests between Japanese university libraries from 1994 to 2008.Design/methodology/approachBased on the newly developed conceptual framework to interpret the rise and fall in ILL, more than 10 million requests, sent through a nation‐wide system called NACSIS‐ILL from 1994 to 2008 were quantitatively analyzed.FindingsThe number of photocopy requests for articles in foreign journals started to decrease in 2000, due to the dramatic increase of e‐journal titles made accessible through “Big Deal” contracts that came into effect in 2002 as well as other similar trials prior to it. On the other hand, requests for articles in domestic journals, mostly written in Japanese, continued to increase until 2006. The main factor for this increase was the expansion of journal title coverage in bibliographic databases, which enabled users to retrieve more references. However, requests decreased in 2007, because of advances in digitization in the Japanese academic environment.Research limitations/implicationsThis research proposes a conceptual model to understand document demand and service patterns observed in nation‐wide ILL services. It also successfully draws a comprehensive picture of ILL in Japanese higher education institutions, based on more than 10 million request records over 15 years, and it shows how the number of ILL requests correlates with the availability of requested journals in electronic form.Originality/valueThis research proposes a conceptual model to understand document demand and service patterns observed in nation‐wide ILL services. It also successfully draws a comprehensive picture of ILL in Japanese higher education institutions, based on more than 10 million request records over 15 years, and it shows how the number of ILL requests correlates with the availability of requested journals in electronic form.

Interlending and resource sharing in UK public libraries: A mixed methods study

“…1 A similar decline in demand for the British Library’s Document Supply Service has been noted, with current levels of provision less than a quarter of that in 2000 (Appleyard, 2015). A wide range of factors have been suggested to explain this decline, including the emergence of the Internet as a source of rare and niche material that was once the preserve of ILL (Goldner and Birch, 2012), and of freely available open access content (D’Elia et al, 2011; Koyama et al, 2011). In addition, declining public library budgets mean increased sensitivity to ILL charges, and pressures to reduce or eliminate associated staff costs.…”

Multi-library union, promoting ILL/DD of the Chinese science digital library

“…It also shows that ILL/DD rapidly developed from 2003 to 2010; however, it experienced a slight decline since then. This decline is attributed to the increase in electronic databases that give instant access to material and more open access journals (Koyama et al, 2011); (Lobban, 2006); (Missingham and Moreno, 2007).…”

Open access: help or hindrance to resource sharing?

“…It is a commonly held belief that ILL is and will continue to be adversely affected by the growth of open access. Studies conducted in Japan and Belgium do show a reduction in the number of ILL requests and place at least partial blame on open access (Koyama et al, 2011;Corthouts et al, 2011), but Schöpfel (2014) recently stated there is "little empirical evidence for this causal relation". McGrath (2014) also notes the many situations in which ILL will still be necessary despite any negative impact of open access.…”