Interlibrary lending statistics

In February 1994, the Library and Information Co‐operation Council recommended a review of co‐operation among library and information services and asked the Library and Information Statistical Unit to deal with the statistical aspects. The report was published in March 1995 and examines and compares the range of interlibrary lending (ILL) statistics currently collected to establish how far they are adequate and consistent, reviews present procedures and makes recommendations for the future. The report′s conclusions are based on the assumption that the present regional system will continue and are presented in three broad areas: for individual libraries to improve the accuracy and to reduce the work involved in data collection; for regional organizations to extend the scope of published statistics and to improve their presentation; and at the macro level to remove some incompatibilities and to propose a more effective overall presentation. Recommendations are designed to enhance, improve and verify the accuracy of ILL statistics and by reducing clerical work and the risk of error to see that the data already collected are available to a wider audience.