The Cost of Interlibrary Loan Services in a Medium-Sized Academic Library

Interlibrary loan has traditionally been the main access to information beyond the individual library collection. The increase in access to document delivery services and full-text databases, however, has created the need to evaluate interlibrary loan services within the overall access environment. One of the most important factors in this evaluation concerns thc cost to provide interlibrary loan. The purpose of this article is to provide the results of a study of one year's interlibrary loan expense at the Library at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. The study was conducted to identify areas of greater and lesser interlibrary loan expense, and to serve as a comparison to the results of cost studies based upon data collected from large research libraries. The final results are also intended to serve as a reference point in determining how best to balance the use of interlibrary loan with commercial document delivery sources. [Anicle copies available for afeejmm The Haworth Document Deliwty Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: [email protected]] Historically, the interlibrary loan (ILL) service has been the main access point to information unavailable in the individual library collection. Libraries share resources through the ILL process and have done so for many years. The access environment, however, is rapidly changing. Through the explosion in commercial document delivery services, full text systems, and Internet access, many more Ted E. Naylor is Interlibrary Loan Librarian and Assistant Professor, Ablah Library, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS 67260 (E-mail address: naylor@ twsuvrn.uc.twsu.edu). Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Information Supply Vol. 8(2) 1997 O I997 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. 5 I 52 Journal of Interlibrary Loan. Document Delivery & It~formarion Supply information access points are available without ILL intervention in the process. The researcher may now easily order and receive material via computer, telefacsimile, or other electronic means. When an article is located and ordered from a commercial vendor, the cost is usually clear and includes all transaction and copyright fees. This type of tangible cost has proven difficult to determine for traditional ILL. The knowledge of the cost of ILL has become increasingly important when attempting to balance the expense of commercial document delivery and full text databases with ILL service. Is it more cost effective to orovide natron access to commercial sources as opposed to obtaining the material from another library? Is document delivery a cost effective alternative to the more traditional ILL structure in libraries? In what areas may ILL expenses be reduced or eliminated without significant reduction in service? Are staff levels at the correct number? This article contains the results of one library's attempt to begin the process of attempting to answer these questions by analyzing the cost to provide ILL service in the Ablah Library, at Wichita State University (WSU) in Wichita, Kansas. Past ILL cost studies have been completed based upon data collected from large research libraries. The results of this cost study, completed at a mediumsized academic library, are intended to provide a starting point for the assessment of traditional ILL in the smaller library. A comparison of this cost with the cost of commercial document delivery at WSU is also included. Wichita State University, in Wichita, Kansas, serves a student body of approximately 15,000 and a faculty of 467. It offers 58 undergraduate, 45 masters, and nine doctoral degrees in 75 fields of study. The Ablah Library employs 23 librarians and 33 clerical staff. The ILL staff at Ablah consists of one professional, two full-time library assistants, and approximately 60 student assistant hours per week. Ninety-eight percent of the borrowing and nearly 90% of the lending requests are processed via the OCLC ILL system. The majority of transactions (approximately 70%) are completed within the State of Kansas and are received and returned by the State maintained courier system. The Ablah Library also holds membership in the AMIGOS and BCR consortiums which includes the free exchange of material among member libraries. Photocopied