Using E-Journals for Interlibrary Loan
Benefits of Using E-Journals
- Trend is towards electronic only
- Efficiency in workflow
- Quality of scans
Interlibrary loan staffs have noticed that the number of libraries with holdings attached
to electronic journal records in WorldCAT has increased greatly in recent years. We used to
see a larger number of holdings on "print" serial records as opposed to the "online" serial
records, but this is becoming increasingly rare. The expectation is that libraries will
continue the trend to close their print holdings in favor of online journals.
Using these e-journals to fill interlibrary loan requests could be beneficial to libraries
struggling to keep up with requests for journal articles. It could eliminate the need to
retrieve and reshelf journals. It would also eliminate the time spent scanning or photocopying
articles. The quality of the scans provided by the e-journal vendors is also generally better
than that done by interlibrary loan staff.
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Communicating the Needs of ILL to Whoever Negotiates Your Contracts
- The danger of losing rights now allowed by copyright law
- ILL might not be a priority
- Desired language in contracts
One danger that libraries face in replacing the copyright law governing the use of print
resources with the terms of the licenses governing the use of online content is the potential
loss of the right we enjoy under copyright law to make copies from journals and books within
certain guidelines for the purpose of interlibrary loan. Staff negotiating contracts with
vendors should be made aware of the needs of interlibrary loan and the technology being used
for ILL, so that they can include terms favorable to ILL in the contracts. Unfortunately,
because of other issues that need to be negotiated, ILL may not be a priority.
It may be helpful to provide your contract negotiators with language that they could strive
to include in contracts.
Interlibrary Loan. Licensee may fulfill requests from other institutions, a practice commonly
called Interlibrary Loan. Licensee agrees to fulfill such requests in compliance with Section
108 of the United States Copyright Law (17 USC 108, "Limitations on exclusive rights:
Reproduction by libraries and archives") and clause 3 of the Guidelines for the Proviso of
Subsection 108(g)(2) prepared by the National Commission on New Technological Uses of
Copyrighted Works. The lending library should be able to post an electronic version of the
article to the ILL website for an ILL patron to view, whether or not both libraries license
or subscribe to the materials. There should be no additional record keeping beyond that required
for copyright compliance by the borrowing libraries.
[Note: the last two sentences are from the "Checklist of Points to be Included in a CDL License
Agreement" on the California Digital Library
website, accessed October 14, 2009.]
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Keeping Track of E-Journals Which May Be Used for ILL
- ERMs (Electronic Resource Management)
- Simpler alternatives
It is not a simple task to stay current on which e-journals may be used for interlibrary loan
and what restrictions may apply to their use. Some libraries are using Electronic Resource
Management (ERMS) software to help them track electronic subscriptions. This software is
expensive and license terms must be input by the library staff, so it does take time and money
to implement this solution. It is also possible to keep a more informal list of the major
databases or highly requested journals, that can be referred to as requests are received.
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Typical License Terms
- Electronic delivery OK, no restrictions
- Electronic delivery OK – "Ariel or equivalent"
- Print first and scan, then electronic delivery OK – "Ariel or equivalent"
- Print and deliver via courier, mail or fax
- Print and deliver via courier or mail only
- ILL forbidden
- ILL not addressed
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Responsibility of Lenders Using E-Journals
Lending staff need to take care that they are abiding by the terms of the contracts that their
libraries have agreed to, and that they are making a reasonable interpretation of the contract
terms.
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