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OCLC book interlibrary loan in a basic-unit hospital library: one year's experience.
Bulletin of the Medical Library Association
|April 1, 1983
Summary
Basic medical libraries can affordably borrow books using OCLC, with 79% sourced from nonmedical institutions. Forming OCLC clusters offers a cost-effective solution for accessing resources beyond overburdened medical libraries.
Area of Science:
- Medical Librarianship
- Information Science
- Interlibrary Loan Services
Background:
- Basic-unit medical libraries, integral to the Regional Medical Library Program, face challenges in resource acquisition.
- Traditional borrowing from overburdened medical resource libraries can be inefficient and costly.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of using OCLC for interlibrary borrowing in a basic-unit medical library.
- To assess the sources of borrowed materials through OCLC and identify potential cost-saving strategies.
Main Methods:
- A single basic-unit medical library utilized OCLC for one year to borrow and lend books.
- Data on successful borrowing requests and sources of materials were collected and analyzed.
Main Results:
- The library successfully borrowed books through OCLC, with a significant 79% obtained from nonmedical libraries.
- This indicates a broad network of accessible resources beyond specialized medical collections.
Conclusions:
- Utilizing OCLC is an affordable and effective method for basic-unit medical libraries to expand their collections.
- Establishing cost-sharing OCLC clusters among similar libraries can further enhance resource accessibility and reduce costs, offering a viable alternative to relying solely on medical resource libraries.