The purpose of this paper is to compare the Boole Library at Cork University, Ireland with university libraries in the USA in terms of resource sharing and inter‐library lending.
Comparisons are made between Boole Library and university libraries in the USA with reference to lack of funds and resources. The paper highlights the differences in funding of inter‐library lending.
Much could be said about how electronic resources are altering the landscape and future of interlibrary loan, but no media forms have evolved to entirely satisfy readers' need to handle the physical book in front of them.
One of the remarkable things about the physical book is what a superb technological form it is. Books are both portable and strong. There is still no better way to read lengthy texts. Although more people are requesting articles electronically, the demand for books seems to keep growing apace with the development of shared library catalogs.
