3. The British Library Lending Division

Abstract

The British Library Lending Division, formed in 1973 from the former NCL and NLLST, is planned on the principle that the great majority of interlibrary loan requests should be met from a central lending collection. Demand has risen at a very fast rate, and the Lending Division handles 3 million requests a year - three-quarters of all British interlending demand. Acquisition aims to be comprehensive, above a certain level, for serials, English-language monographs, report literature, conference proceedings, translations into English, music scores and British and international official publications. The collection is supported by ‘back-up’ libraries to which requests may be passed and by union catalogues giving locations of libraries that may be approached direct. 83% of valid requests are met from stock, as many as possible by photocopies, and a further 7% from other UK sources. Requests from abroad (currently over half a million a year) have grown very rapidly. Systems and procedures are designed for simple, fast and economical operation. Among other activities, the Lending Division serves as a repository for material withdrawn from other libraries and as an exchange centre, and arranges for translations to be made.