Missing Link: Optimizing Access to Reduce Unnecessary ILL Requests

Abstract

Patrons were submitting an unsettling number of interlibrary-library loan requests for articles the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point already owned electronically. Patrons could have accessed the full-text themselves but opted for ILL instead, thereby consuming staff time and delaying delivery. From 2017-2018, these unnecessary requests accounted for nearly 44% of ILL article borrowing transactions. Library staff suspected the confusion stemmed from Ex Libris Primo, which required a vexing, multistep process to download articles.

In 2019, the UWSP Libraries integrated LibKey into Primo, condensing article downloads to a single link. In the first year with LibKey, ILL has experienced a substantial drop in unnecessary requests. Primo usability also has improved thanks to one-click article access.

In this presentation, ILL staff will share results of implementing LibKey in Primo. Third Iron Co-founder Kendall Bartsch will add perspective on related findings from other libraries.