Measuring the performance of ILL and document supply: 1986 to 1998

No thorough review of the literature of performance evaluation of interlibrary loan and document supply operations has been published in over a decade. This article surveys that literature in the years 1987 through 1997 from published research in all English‐speaking countries. There is general agreement that fill rate, turnaround time, cost and user satisfaction are the four primary criteria for evaluating ILL and document supply. Although there has been increased emphasis on quantifying the performance of ILL and document supply in recent years, this research has been hindered by the lack of standardisation of measurement devices and definitions of terms. Following a discussion of theoretical considerations, recent studies in each of the four main criteria will be examined in separate sections. A supplement to this article, covering the years 1998 through 2000, is in preparation and will be published in the near future.