Interlibrary Loan Requests for Locally Available Materials: WorldCat Local’s Impact

Abstract

Several studies have researched the reasons and patterns for academic library users’ interlibrary loan requests for materials already available at their college or university library. This study examines interlibrary loan statistics at the University of Delaware for four academic years to determine whether WorldCat Local impacts requests for locally available material. Data show that WorldCat Local does reduce this type of request, particularly when users are requesting returnable loans of materials such as books or audiovisual items rather than copies of articles.