Is ILL Enough? Examining ILL Demand After Journal Cancellations at Three

North Carolina Universities Kristin Calvert, Electronic Resources Librarian, Western Carolina

UniversityWilliam Gee, ILL & Document Delivery Librarian, East Carolina

UniversityJanet Malliet, Serials Librarian, Winston Salem State UniversityRachel Fleming, Serials Librarian, Western Carolina University

Charleston Conference 20137 November 2013

Early StudiesStudies consistently showed marginal impact to ILL after cancellation projects:1981 University of North Dakota1995 University of Florida1996 Southern Illinois University – Carbondale1999 Texas A&M

For full literature review see Hill Katherine, Kristin Calvert, and Rachel Fleming, “Impact of Journal Cancellations on Interlibrary Loan Demand” Serials Review, 39:3 (September 2013) pp 184-187. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.serrev.2013.07.006

Concerns about ILL Demand“Selling” ILL to faculty as alternate

means of access to materials in cancelled journals

Timeliness of ILL delivery

Capacity of ILL staff

Significant increase in demand could adversely affect delivery times

Factors Influencing ILL Demand(or) Criteria for CancellationAvailable FT through aggregator database (to

current)Available FT through aggregator database

(embargo)Eliminate format duplicationHigh Cost-Per-UseLow Use (regardless of cost)Subject overlapConnection to Curricula

Three North Carolina SchoolsWSSU WCU ECUCarnegie Classification Master’s Medium Master’s Large Doctoral/ ResearchEnrollment 5,689 9,608 26,947UG 5,245 7,979 21,298Grad 444 1,629 5,649Library Budget $3.18M $4.28M $17.11MSerials $0.25M $1.23M $3.96M

WSSU – CancellationsBudget Increase of approximately $250,000Cancellation of 110 subscriptionsReviewed subscriptions based on criteria:

Do we have access electronically?Do we have access to it from a library close by

(either public or another university)?Maintained some level of access for nearly

every title

WSSU – ILL DemandFor 110 cancelled

subscriptions there were 3 article requests from 2 journals

Total article requests dropped 17% in 2012

4% of requests were for cancelled titles.

(54 article requests filled in 2012)

WSSU – NotesVery few requests for the cancelled

subscriptions because of extensive format duplication

Publication dates for the 3 article requests were from 1994-1995…and would have most likely still have been

only available through ILL and not a current subscription.

WCU – CancellationsBudget reduction of approximately $350,000Cancellation of 799 subscriptionsReviewed subscriptions based on criteria

Available through aggregator databasesMultiple formatsHigh cost-per-useLow useConnection to curriculaDatabase review (content overlap)

WCU – ILL DemandFor the 626 cancelled

journals there were 50 article requests from 29 journals

While total article requests increased 11% in 2012, only 2% of all requests were for cancelled titles

WCU – ILL Demand

ECU – CancellationsBudget decrease of approximately $205,000Cancellation of 350 subscriptionsReviewed subscriptions based on criteria:

Database review (overlap)Multiple formatsStrive to retain “unique” contentLow use and high cost-per-useJournal citation practices, impact factors, etc.Importance to curriculum and faculty research

ECU – ILL DemandFor the 348 cancelled

journals there were 18 article requests from 13 journals

Total article requests dropped 3% in 2012, and only 1% of all requests were for cancelled titles.

ECU – ILL Demand

Is the ILL demand new?Reviewed requests

for cancelled journals in the years prior to cancellation

Noted whether the number of requests had changed relative to previous years.

Summary Data WSSU WCU ECUCancellations 110 626 348Cancelled Journals w/ ILL requests 21.8% 294.6% 133.7%Number of requests 3 50 18Percent of total requests 4% 2% 1%Requests per journal 1.5 1.7 1.4Journals with single requests 1 19 11

Other FactorsCancellation date may not be the same as the

date that access ceases

Increased ILL requests may be due to many factors

High demand for current titles due to embargoed access

Aggregator access is not totally reliable as replacement for subscription access

Aggregator AccessWCU Demand: Article requests per journal

What does it mean?Re-confirms earlier research findings

Confirms review criteria

More core journals across all libraries

What should we be worried about if ILL demand is not a important concern?

Defining NeedNeed for any material versus need for

specific materials (satisficing)

What this means for collection developers

What does it mean for publishers and database providers?

Lending and ILL ProvidersWho will we borrow these articles from?

How does ILL-centered article procurement become a sustainable model?

What is the role of shared collection development?