Abstract
The sending of media materials via interlibrary loan is a practice in the library world that is fraught with controversy. On the one hand, the American Library Association’s Guidelines for the Interlibrary Loan of Audiovisual Formats makes a clear case for sharing audiovisual material in all formats. The reality, on the other hand, is more in line with the statement posted by the University of Oregon Libraries on their Interlibrary Loan webpage. In some instances libraries have adopted halfway reciprocal measures. They will loan only to those institutions that will also lend to them, or who are members of a regional or consortial system. While resources are being shared somewhat under these policies, they are still not in compliance with ALA Guidelines. An examination of several randomly selected libraries in the southeastern region revealed policies that ranged from generous to restrictive.
Publication Date
Spring 2007