E‐books: are they the interlibrary lending model of the future? Available to Purchase

This article assesses the likely impact of e‐books on interlibrary lending in the UK. It examines a range of factors that are likely to impact on the lending of e‐books to other libraries, for example, digital rights management systems designed to protect copyright and publishers' profits, and the limited take‐up of e‐book services in UK libraries. It analyses the reasons behind this poor take‐up including unsuitable pricing and delivery models and lack of appropriate content. The article also gauges current levels of demand for books requested via interlibrary loans, and questions whether books are different from documents in terms of copying and distribution, and what the likelihood is of e‐books being able to satisfy interlibrary loan requests. A new hybrid model of interlending, aimed at solving the problem of lending e‐books in academic libraries, is reviewed.