Interlending and document supply developments in Italy

Today in Italy, interlibrary loan and document delivery are important elements in the strategic plans of most libraries. Their growing importance is a reflection of the increasing number of Italian OPACs and the development of the National Library System (SBN). More Italian libraries offer efficient ILL services through the use of electronic mail, easy payment methods, clearly stated ILL policies on their Web pages and request forms linked to OPAC records. Many problems still remain, however. These stem from a lack of a national, centralised ILL system and from the heterogeneity of the various local and regional library networks.