Interlibrary loan and document delivery in North American health sciences libraries during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objective: The study purpose was to understand how early months of the COVID-19 pandemic altered interlibrary loan (ILL) and document delivery (DD) in North American health science libraries (HSLs), specifically the decision-making and workflow adjustments associated with accessing their own collections and obtaining content not available via ILL. Methods: Researchers distributed an online 26-question survey through 24 health science library email lists from January 6-February 7, 2021. Respondents reported their library’s ILL and DD activities from March-August 2020, including ILL/DD usage and policies, collection access, decision-making, and workflow adjustments. In addition to calculating frequencies, cross-tabulation and statistical tests were performed to test a priori potential associations. Two researchers independently and thematically analyzed responses to the 2 open-ended questions and reached consensus on themes. Results: Hospital libraries represented 52% (n=226/431) of respondents, along with 42% academic (n=179) and 6% (n=26) multi-type or other special. Only 1% (n=5) closed completely with no remote services, but many, 45% (n=194), ceased ILL of print materials. More than half (n=246/423; 58%) agreed that ILL requests likely to be filled from print remained unfilled more than is typical. Open-ended questions yielded 5 themes on ILL/DD staffing, setup, and systems; 6 on impacts for libraries and library users. Conclusion: Lack of communication regarding collection availability and staffing resulted in delayed or unfilled requests. Hospital and academic libraries made similar decisions about continuing services but reported different experiences in areas such as purchasing digital content. Hybrid ILL/DD workflows may continue for managing these services.

University students' satisfaction with library services and resources using the Kano model

“…This means that they neither strongly approve nor disapprove of the performance-based aspects of library services. The complex evaluation may stem from the diversity of services offered, such as extended hours (Tsang and Chiu, 2022), interlibrary loans (Lloyd et al, 2022), and technology workshops (Hernández-Pérez et al, 2022), contributing to a varied user experience. While neutral satisfaction does not signal overt dissatisfaction, it is a valuable indicator for the library to delve deeper into specific elements within the performance features that may require refinement or enhancement.…”