Book Availability Revisited: Turnaround Time for Recalls versus Interlibrary Loans

Abstract

Librarians typically view interlibrary loan (ILL) as a means of providing access to items not owned by the local institution. However, they are less likely to explore ILL’s potential in providing timely access to items locally owned, but temporarily unavailable, particularly in the case of monographs in circulation. In a two-part study, the authors test the assumption that, on average, locally owned books that a patron finds unavailable (due to checkout) can be obtained more quickly via recall than via ILL. Phase 1 of this study establishes an average turnaround time for circulation recalls in a large academic library for comparison with well-established turnaround times for ILL borrowing transactions. In Phase 2, a more rigorous paired study of recalls and ILL compares the ability of each system to handle identical requests in real time. Results demonstrate that, under some circumstances, ILL provides a reasonable alternative to the internal recall process. The findings also underscore the need for more holistic, interservice models for improving not just access, but also the timeliness of access, to monograph collections.