ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 142 / C&RL News Free online search days and interlibrary loan By Sallie H. Barringer Science Librarian Trinity University and Paul Frisch Head o f Reference Southwest Missouri State University In libraries and other complex organizations, an upgrading of service in terms of quantity or sophis­ tication frequently has an im pact on areas beyond the initiating unit. Intelligent library planning re­ quires the anticipation of increased demands on li­ brary resources which may arise from introducing a new public service, or promoting or improving an existing service. Access to online and CD-ROM databases, in particular, are public services which may have significant impacts upon reference, cir­ culation, acquisitions, and interlibrary loan. Since some citations found through online and CD-ROM database searches may not be owned by a library, it is reasonable to expect a rise in the num ber of interlibrary loan requests when these services are used more than usual. There are sev­ eral studies on the connection between online d ata­ base searching and interlibrary loan, mainly from medical, scientific, and technical libraries, all w ith large clienteles of frequent users of online search­ ing.1 No studies were found which examine this re­ lationship in college or university libraries. These libraries generally conduct fewer online searches than special libraries, often because user charges discourage students and faculty from taking ad­ vantage of the service. As more academic libraries consider end-user searching through lower-cost, after-hours online databases and subscriptions to CD-ROM databases, it is im portant th at librarians understand w hat im pact access to these formats is likely to have upon requests for interlibrary loan borrowing. Trinity University is a prim arily undergraduate institution w ith a student body numbering around 2,500 and a faculty of 225. The reference librarians had become concerned th at students and teaching faculty were unaw are of the possibilities of com­ puterized information sources and w anted to p ub­ licize these services. They had been doing online searching on a cost-recovery basis since 1981, but 1jean K. M artin, “Computer-Based L iterature Searching: Im pact on Interlibrary Loan Service,” Special Libraries 69 (January 1978): 1-6; Mary L. Calkins, “Online Services and Operational Costs,” Special Libraries 68 (January 1977): 13-17; and D onald T. Hawkins, “Im pact of Online Systems on a L iterature Searching Service,” Special Libraries 87 (December 1976): 559-67. the number of searches had remained low, averag­ ing between 200 and 250 per year. They had also begun to introduce online searching as a p art of bibliographic instruction for upper-level classes, especially in the sciences; however, they w anted to do something th at would allow a large num ber of students and faculty to take advantage of the ser­ vice at a minimal cost. It was decided to experi­ ment w ith setting aside a day for free online search­ ing fo r stu d e n ts an d fa c u lty , using a special eight-hour password from BRS Information Tech­ nologies. This free search day was planned for October 1, 1987. W hile we encouraged students and faculty to come in and plan searches w ith librarians in ad­ vance, we did not require it. We did 83 searches, for 74 students and 9 faculty. Users entered the search room, where they were met by a librarian who helped them plan a search strategy, had their search done by another librarian, and filled out an exit survey. While some search requests were ac­ cepted in advance, and performed in absentia, the majority of the searches were done on a first-come, first-served basis w ith the user present. There was no attem pt at a follow up interview or extensive as­ sistance, although the students were directed to the reference desk if they had any problems; the refer­ ence staff spent considerable time explaining how to find the articles th at had been retrieved. The effect of the free searches on interlibrary loan (ILL) was im mediate. Around 80 requests were subm itted on October 1, the free search day itself, m ainly from users of the free search day. This was considerably more th an the 20-30 requests subm itted on a typical day. The interlibrary loan operation had seen a great increase in requests over the past year; the free search day only increased this trend through the fall. There was some con­ cern about the effects of the free search day on a service th at was already working hard to provide timely service. It was decided to track the effects of the free online searches on IL L through the entire semester. Lists of students and faculty who had had searches done were compared w ith the ILL re­ quests filled during this period. D uring October 1987, in te rlib ra ry loan requests increased by 63.4 %, up 106 from the same period in 1988. D ur­ ing November, requests increased by 9 %, and in February 1989 / 143 December requests increased by 8.8% . Overall, during the O ctober-D ecem ber period of 1987, book ILL requests w ent up 25 %, from 243 to 304, and journal article requests w ent up 31 %, from 271 to 354. Those students and faculty who had searches done represented 158, or 24 %, of the total of these requests, more th an accounting for the in­ crease. Of these, 133 were submitted in October. Because of the positive public response to the first free online search day, two more such days were held during the following semester, Spring 1988. Searches for students were done on February 25 and the morning of March 3; faculty searches were done on the afternoon of March 3. A total of 98 searches was done over the two days—87 for stu­ dents and 11 for faculty. In contrast to the first free search day, students and faculty w ere each re­ quired to meet w ith a librarian in advance to plan their search strategy, and had to set a definite time to have their searches done. By setting a schedule for individual searches, we hoped to relieve the congestion in the search room and the strain on the librarians th at resulted from the drop-in service of the October free search day and to improve the us­ ers’ understanding of the service. Also, following the search, each person was required to meet w ith a librarian to discuss how to interpret their p rin t­ out, and how to find the various materials listed. Interlibrary loan was specifically mentioned as a possible method of obtaining necessary books or ar­ ticles.2 As before, there was an immediate effect on in­ terlibrary loan. The im pact of the free searches was apparent in February: 191 ILL requests during February 1987, as compared with 251 in February 1988, an increase of 31.4% . D uring March, the difference from the previous year was more dra­ matic, paralleling the increase in October 1987. D uring March 1987, 221 IL L requests were made. D uring March 1988, 349 requests were made, an increase of 57.9% . D uring April 1988, there were 200 requests, actually a 12% decline from 228 re­ quests during April 1987. The bulk of the 102 ILL requests attributable to the free search days were subm itted in between February 25 and the end of March. This represented 12.7% of the total num ­ ber of requests filled during the three m onth pe­ riod; however, since all but 11 of these requests were subm itted between February 25 and March 18, the actual impact on the interlibrary loan oper­ ation was much more concentrated. The 102 requests resulting from the two Spring free search days actually represented a 64.5% de­ crease from the 158 requests from the free search 2For suggestions on educating users concerning their online search printouts, see Bruce Connolly and Cheryl M. LaG uardia, “The Im pact of D ata­ base Searching on Interlibrary Loan: ‘Eliminating the negative,”’ Online Review 10 (June 1988): 185-89. day the previous Fall. While there is no d ata to in­ dicate any correlation, one possible reason for the decline is th at students’ consultation w ith a refer­ ence librarian may have helped them choose the most appropriate citations on their printout, in­ stead randomly requesting them through IL L .3 In summary, our experience has demonstrated th at when a library begins a new service—w hether it be CD-ROM databases, subsidized end-user searching, or free online searching—th at gives li­ brary users quick access to a large body of informa­ tion th at is not found in their library, there will be a discernible effect on interlibrary loan requests. Furtherm ore, if the library actively promotes al­ ternative ways to obtain materials not owned by the library, such as IL L , the effect will be even more pronounced. Thus, any library planning to begin one of these services should carefully consider how other service areas of the institution will be able to meet increased demand. ■ ■ 3Ibid., 188. Conference on forged documents T he recent discovery of alleged forgeries among early Texas printed documents is a m at­ ter of serious concern. The University of Hous­ ton Libraries are pursuing an active role in as­ sisting fu rth e r investigations, according to library director Robin N. Downes. A ustin p rin te r and ra re book d eale r W . Thomas Taylor has questioned the authenticity of certain copies of thirteen printed documents relating to the history of Texas. Taylor has iden­ tified printing irregularities in copies whose provenance cannot be established before 1972. These suspected forgeries are owned by thirteen institutions and a number of private collectors. Pat Bozeman, head of special collections, has stated th at four such documents are owned by the University of Houston (numbers 7, 165, 1082, and 112.1, as listed in Thomas W. Stree­ ter’s Bibliography o f Texas, 1795-1845). Issues relating to forged documents will be the focus of a conference sponsored by the Uni­ versity of Houston. Topics will include forgery detection, scholarly considerations, in stitu ­ tional responsibilities, tax and legal implica­ tions, and dealer/donor/institutional relations. This two-day conference will be held in late Oc­ tober 1989. For further information, contact P at B ozem an, H ead of Special C ollections, University of Houston Libraries, Houston, TX 77204-2091. A C Q U IS IT IO N PERSPECTIVES 3. We provide each customer a list­ ing of books not immediately available from the publisher. This monthly open order report assures you we have re­ cently taken effective action towards earliest possible delivery of your or­ ders. 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