Interlending and document delivery in the nordic countries

Abstract

Fj~illbrant became the Secretary of the International Association of Technical University Libraries in 1986. She was editor of the IATUL Conference Proceedings from 1977 to 1985. Previously she was a librarian at the Hovhs Public Library; a lecturer at the Swedish College of Librarianship in Borhs; and a research assistant, lecturer, and deputy librarian at Chalmers University of Technology Library in Gothenberg. L6nnqvist is the Planning Officer for NORDINFO, the Nordic Council for Scientific Information and Research Libraries. From 1980 to 1983, she was a librarian at the interlending department of Helsinki University of Technology Library. The volume of published information is ever growing, particularly in the fields of science, technology, and medicine. Furthermore, the development of online bibliographic retrieval services and improved telecommunications has greatly increased the possibilities for finding references to documents of potential interest. As a result, few libraries can single-handedly meet the needs of their users. Complementary materials must often be obtained from external sources. Interlibrary lending and document supply in libraries and information centers have therefore grown in importance. This article will describe current interlending practices in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden), and will indicate possible future developments. The Nordic countries have relatively small populations: Denmark has 5,000,000 people; Finland, 5,000,000; Iceland 250,000; Norway, 4,000,000; and Sweden, 8,000,000. Together, however, they constitute a sizeable portion of northern Europe. Finland, Norway, and Sweden extend north of the Arctic Circle, and Iceland is the most northerly country in Europe. The majority of the people live in urban areas and large parts of the countries are thinly populated. There are strong historic and cultural links between the Nordic countries. The close relationship between the languages is of special importance. Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish have developed from a common Indo-European Northern Germanic source, whereas the Finnish language belongs to the completely separate FennoUgrian group of languages. Finland, however, was pa r t of Sweden from 1155 to 1809, so a minority (6 percent) of the Finnish population still speak