Feasibility assessment of creating an inter‐library loan system and document delivery services in public libraries of Fars Province (Iran)

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this research is to display an applied and descriptive survey, assessing the feasibility of creating an inter‐library loan (ILL) system and document delivery services in public libraries of Fars Province (Iran).Design/methodology/approachThe tool for gathering data in this study is a questionnaire distributed to 254 people from public library managers and librarians in Fars Province. Data analysis was performed with statistical software SPSS (version 16), using descriptive statistics and the Friedman test.FindingsBased on the findings, 69.94 percent of research librarians and 95.9 percent of managers surveyed need to implement an inter‐library loan system. Activity of libraries in Fars Province in the field of ILL and document delivery library services was very low (5.73 percent). Research subjects indicated that the limitations and potential problems in implementation included: no guarantee that prevents damage to resources (97.3 percent), a lack of consistent rules using library services ILL (95 percent), a lack of funding for cooperation among libraries (92/1 percent), a lack of cooperation between public libraries in ILL library (91.3 percent), the high cost of cooperation among libraries, non‐credit provision for main organization (89.4 percent), a lack of equipment such as computers, scanners, copiers, and faxes (89 percent), a lack of librarians familiar with network technologies and databases (83.9 percent), a lack of trust among professionals in the field of librarianship and library document delivery services (80 percent), and a lack of coordination between the center and the library system for implementation (80 percent).Originality/valueThe paper offers recommendations which, if enacted, would lead to a much needed improvement to the ILL and document delivery services of public (and other libraries) in Fars Province.