Open access: help or hindrance to resource sharing?

The purpose of this paper is to examine interlibrary loan (ILL) requests for open access materials submitted during fiscal years 2012 and 2013 and to consider the implications of open access for resource sharing.

Borrowing requests for open access materials were quantitatively analyzed and compared to total borrowing requests and open access borrowing requests from the previous two fiscal years.

During the period studied, borrowing requests for open access materials increased, while overall requests held steady. The difficulty users have in navigating the online information environment makes it unlikely that ILL requests will decrease significantly due to the growing amount of open access material available.

The literature discussing the relationship between open access and ILL has expanded in recent years, but largely focuses on the negative impact of open access on resource sharing. This paper presents an update on previous research and provides contradictory evidence that the number of borrowing requests for open access documents continues to grow. Open access should be embraced as a help to resource sharing. This article is of great value to ILL practitioners looking for effective ways of identifying open access ILL requests.