Australian resource sharing: did ILL benchmarking make a difference?

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to describe the national interlibrary loan and document delivery (ILL/DD) benchmarking study undertaken by Australian libraries in 2001 and evaluates its impact. It outlines the nature and scope of ILL/DD in Australia, including research into the significance of this library activity to researchers.Design/methodology/approachThe evaluation was undertaken through a survey including detailed statistical information from libraries in all sectors. Additional analysis is done using statistics from university libraries and the national interlibrary lending system.FindingsThe paper finds that the benchmarking study and activities undertaken to implement the findings of the study have improved the turnaround time and the operation of ILL/DD in Australia both for libraries and users. All sectors reduced delivery time by up to 50 per cent, creating much more effective access for users to the Australian distributed collection.Originality/valueThis is the first formal evaluation of a national benchmarking project and demonstrates that by working on the performance of libraries from a national approach significant improvements can be made in effectiveness and efficiency. It provides a model that could be used to evaluate other benchmarking studies. As it is the first formal evaluation of a national benchmarking study it has high originality.