British Library Document Supply Centre Research Articles

INTERLENDING IN THE UK 1985

A national survey of interlibrary lending in the UK was undertaken during the two weeks beginning 11 February 1985 to establish the current pattern of activity and to compare it with the picture as painted in a 1977 survey. Data collection forms were sent to all 5,804 UK addresses on the British Library Document Supply Centre's list of registered users. An actual response of 2,331 (41%) was achieved, recording a total of 76,402 transactions. The broad pattern of interlending appears to have remained constant over the last eight years. Categories of material in demand and the types of library from which the demand originates are almost exactly the same in 1985 as in 1977. Performance has, however, deteriorated: supply times are slower; the number of applications required for a single item has increased. The Document Supply Centre remains the principal interlending channel and source of supply: co‐operatives and regional systems carry only a small share of the total traffic; the efficiency of location tools seems to be low; new technology has made little impression on interlending. Most requests (72%) are sent unchecked to the Document Supply Centre, which seems to reflect the confidence fostered by the existence of a large, centralized and dedicated resource.