Centre stage or just a supporting role? International interlending in the twenty‐first century – a UK perspective

Abstract

The world is fast becoming a smaller place and the same is true of the document delivery world. Rapid growth in resource discovery tools has led to a breaking down of barriers resulting in the international nature of resource sharing that now exists. Traditional methods of finding, requesting and delivery have radically altered and the “where” of the information object required is no longer of importance. Global availability of information has increased choice and expectation for the end‐user but, conversely, has created a new set of problems for the interlending community. One specific problem area of this global document delivery market is traditional interlending – the loan of returnables. This article considers how UK libraries are attempting to reconcile global demand with the unique problems of this particular area.