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

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a mixed methods study of interlending and resource sharing in UK public libraries, based on the results of a survey distributed to both senior library managers and interlending staff, and in-depth follow-up interviews with 20 respondents. We present an analysis of perspectives towards rates of interlending, the rationales and strategies for providing the service, the perceived value for money offered by various interlending schemes, the impact of the current digital environment, and views on the future of interlending in the UK. Our findings suggest that while interlending services are undoubtedly threatened by the drastic cuts to public library funding, and that demand for the service is more generally in decline, resource sharing is viewed by some as a potential means of mitigating the effects of increasingly limited acquisitions budgets, and ensuring the public library system continues to provide access to a wide range of resources for its users.

Library as a consortium perspective: A systematic literature review

“…Libraries form consortia for various reasons. Among them are to improve the resources available in local, national or international libraries (Perushek and Douglas, 2014), whether these are financial (Ahmed and Suleiman, 2013; Al-Baridi, 2016; Jurczyk and Jacobs, 2014) or technological (Blobaum, 2014), or aiming for synergy among participants, collaboration, scale economies, sharing information and knowledge, increasing brand value, broadening perspectives, team enablement and technical support (Chiwanza and Mutongi, 2018; Jeon and Menicucci, 2017; Wakeling et al, 2018), Therefore, consortia allow resource-sharing to increase capacities to satisfy their users’ information needs (Bhatt, 2013; Maceviciute et al, 2017).…”

The moral obligation for interlibrary lending

“…The participants were generally sympathetic with the concept of libraries lending resources between each other, and their reactions fitted in with the three attitudes detected by Wakeling et al (2016). Five participants considered that there was a moral imperative for one library to lend resources to another, with comments such as: ‘Without doubt’ and ‘Yes, that is a good way of best utilisation of limited resources to provide a quality customer service’.…”

“…Wakeling et al (2016) were commissioned by The Combined Regions to investigate the current decline in regional interlibrary lending and requests for documents through the British Library. They conducted a survey and interviews with public library senior managers and interlibrary lending staff.…”

“…They conducted a survey and interviews with public library senior managers and interlibrary lending staff. Wakeling et al (2016) found that the rationale for interlibrary lending given by library and information professionals was their ‘belief that knowledge should be unrestricted by ownership’ (p. 4). Their survey asked about the underlying reasons for providing interlibrary lending and the answers included ‘user demand’, ‘responsibility to serve the community’ and ‘facilitating access to niche items’: The most common reasons for offering an interlending service related to libraries’ duty to help users access the material they need.…”

“…Two reports featuring interlibrary lending have suggested that librarians face a philosophical dilemma in this age of digital information and e-resources. The South West Regional Library Service: Fundamental review examined the organisation’s relevance to library collaboration and interlibrary lending (Bamkin and Creaser, 2016), while ‘ Interlending and resource sharing in UK public libraries: A mixed method study ’ (Wakeling et al, 2016) reported the result of research commissioned by The Combined Regions to understand an apparent decline in interlending.…”