2019 Charleston Library Conference

Two very different academic libraries, the University of California Davis and Griffith University in Australia, have re-visioned the role that interlibrary loan plays on their campuses as a key component in addressing resource issues. As the University of California faced a potential standoff with a major publisher and wanting to increase resilience and capacity to withstand a sustained period of lost access, the Davis campus has re-imagined the role that interlibrary loan plays for its campus community. This has included interrogating a wide range of assumptions including staffing, collaboration among ILL units on campus, the days and hours of service, policies around borrowing, service expectations, and the underlying technologies and consortial agreements. We’ll discuss both the changes we’ve made and the initial assessment of how effectively these changes support campus research. Griffith University has also been working to address stresses in our ability to deliver research resources. Over the years, ILL functions had been split in various portfolios. By 2019, it was clear that the service needed a revamp to find the right spot in our overall service picture. We will discuss the agile approach we took to address this and ensure continuity of service during a period of turmoil resulting in an ILL system project reboot three times in three years. The team’s ability to pivot quickly and smartly has resulted in minimal disruption for clients. This talk will be relevant to those interested in practical strategies to review services such as ILL and apply data analysis to make tough decisions. The ILL service review required deep thinking about integration with a range of other functions, including IT procurement policies, general acquisitions workflow efficiencies, staff training and workforce planning, and budget modelling.