Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand why users at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) are unable to locate locally held items from the university libraries' electronic and physical collections using the library web site and catalog.Design/methodology/approach – A combination of usability testing methods and quality control methods were used. Items for the study were selected from cancelled interlibrary loan requests. A cognitive walkthrough was performed for citations representative of the top categories of cancellation because the item is owned or available electronically. Quality control methods were used to determine likely user failure points to completing this path. Data from the cognitive walkthrough were compared with actual user behavior, as observed through usability testing.Findings – Participants in the study failed to locate known items for multiple reasons, but from the usability testing and analysis three major areas emerged: finding the correct starting‐point for the ...

User failure to find known library items

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine interlibrary loan (ILL) requests for open access materials submitted during fiscal years 2012 and 2013 and to consider the implications of open access for resource sharing. Design/methodology/approach – Borrowing requests for open access materials were quantitatively analyzed and compared to total borrowing requests and open access borrowing requests from the previous two fiscal years. Findings – During the period studied, borrowing requests for open access materials increased, while overall requests held steady. The difficulty users have in navigating the online information environment makes it unlikely that ILL requests will decrease significantly due to the growing amount of open access material available. Originality/value – The literature discussing the relationship between open access and ILL has expanded in recent years, but largely focuses on the negative impact of open access on resource sharing. This paper presents an update on previous research ...

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Open Access: Help or Hindrance to Resource Sharing?

This paper presents the results of a study to document and analyze a sample of interlibrary loan requests received from library patrons of an academic medical library for items that are actually held in the collection of the library. This category is referred to as cancelled requests. The purpose of the study was to attempt to measure the degree to which library patrons are not making the best possible use of the collection and understand why this was taking place. Suggestions are presented for steps to lower the cancellation rate.

Cancelled requests:a study of interlibrary loan requests for items held in a medical library collection.

Several studies have researched the reasons and patterns for academic library users’ interlibrary loan requests for materials already available at their college or university library. This study examines interlibrary loan statistics at the University of Delaware for four academic years to determine whether WorldCat Local impacts requests for locally available material. Data show that WorldCat Local does reduce this type of request, particularly when users are requesting returnable loans of materials such as books or audiovisual items rather than copies of articles.

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Interlibrary Loan Requests for Locally Available Materials: WorldCat Local's Impact

As the use of the Ohio State University Libraries interlibrary services has increased, there have been more requests to borrow items that are already available to patrons locally, often in electronic format. Patterns relating to why patrons could not find locally available materials were identified in the record of canceled interlibrary requests for calendar year 2007. These requests originated more frequently from certain academic departments, occurred more often for articles than books, and were most common for items published one to six years earlier. These requests were also associated with problematic OpenURL links to publisher or content provider Web pages.

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Interlibrary Service Requests for Locally and Electronically Available Items: Patterns of Use, Users, and Canceled Requests.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is intended to supplement a library's collection, but often patrons submit requests for items already owned. An analysis of a large academic library's ILL requests shows that in most cases the cataloging of bibliographic records is correct, but patrons need instruction in bibliographic searches and ILL policies and procedures. An unexpected result of the study was a realization that patrons are confused by the way items are shelved in the various branches.

Elaine Yontz

Papers

Interlibrary Loan Requests for Locally Held Items: Why Aren't They Using What We've Got?