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ISSN 1039-3498 | no. 43 | February 2000


NRSWG report on interlibrary loan delivery

It is generally thought that postal delivery of an interlibrary loan (ILL) item is just a matter of having someone deliver the item from one location to another. However, a recently released report by the National Resource Sharing Working Group (NRSWG) suggests that delivery may be a more complex area than it first appears.

The NRSWG undertook a survey of ILL delivery times late last year. The survey collected information from a range of libraries across Australia on the time taken by postal and courier systems to deliver material requested by standard interlibrary loan.

The primary intention was to provide a general estimate of delivery times that could be used to inform the development of ILL standards, both nationally and within individual libraries, and to provide benchmarks of delivery from a range of locations throughout Australia. Another aim was to provide information to libraries that would help their decisions about choice of delivery carrier or service.

The survey revealed some interesting and significant facts about delivery times: all packages in the survey were delivered within 10 days; 86% of packages delivered within the metropolitan area of a State or Territory were received within two days; 88% of packages delivered from metropolitan to country areas within a State or Territory were received within three days; and 98% of packages sent to interstate locations were delivered within five days. NSW was notable for having the least reliable delivery services for both interstate and within State deliveries.

The survey data also raised a range of important issues related to library involvement in decisions about postage and carrier services, contractual and other agreements, and performance measurement.

Of the institutions surveyed, 90% used Australia Post standard delivery services (often in conjunction with other delivery services such as commercial couriers or library vans). Despite widespread use of Australia Post, collaborative arrangements between libraries and other institutions currently appear to be uncommon with respect to external carriers.

The majority of institutions surveyed had some form of agreement (contractual or otherwise) with at least one of their postal carriers. This raised the issue of including performance indicators (such as delivery time) within these agreements, and also the need to measure the contractors’ performance on a regular basis. The report suggests that ILL staff should be aware of any performance standards within a contract, and should consider being actively involved in monitoring the performance of carriers.

The survey also made it clear that ILL staff need to be aware of any relevant contract or agreement that exists with a carrier, as the specific services provided by the carrier may have implications for ILL practice (for example, when a carrier with a tracking service is required). In addition, it is suggested that increasing the involvement of ILL areas in the development of specifications for such contracts is likely to be beneficial.

ILL postal delivery times are a key part of overall ILL turnaround time. While postal delivery is often considered to be an area outside the control of ILL staff, it influences perceptions of library performance in delivering ILL services, and thus affects service standards, both individual and national. This survey goes some way towards highlighting areas of possible improvement.

‘In the Mail: Report of a Survey of Inter-Library Loan Delivery’ can be obtained from the NRSWG web page (at http://www.nla.gov.au/initiatives/nrswg/). Additional information about the work of the NRSWG can also be found at this site. Print copies of the report can be obtained from Carolyn Stammers at the National Library of Australia on (02) 6262 1214.

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Please address any comments and enquiries to The Editor, Gateways: tford@nla.gov.au

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