LTA Interlibrary Loan and Resource Sharing 1 â Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the acronym 'ILL' stand for in library services?
- Information Lending Library
- Interlibrary Loan (Correct answer)
- International Library Link
- Integrated Library Lending
Correct answer: Interlibrary Loan
ILL stands for Interlibrary Loan, the service through which libraries share materials with one another on behalf of patrons.
Question 2: Which organization operates the primary bibliographic network and ILL management platform used by most US libraries?
- American Library Association (ALA)
- Library of Congress (LC)
- Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) (Correct answer)
- Special Libraries Association (SLA)
Correct answer: Online Computer Library Center (OCLC)
OCLC operates WorldCat and the WorldShare ILL platform, which is the primary network used by US libraries for interlibrary lending.
Question 3: According to CONTU guidelines, what does the 'Rule of Five' govern in ILL copyright compliance?
- A library may make up to five copies of any single item per year
- A patron may have no more than five active ILL requests simultaneously
- No more than five copies of articles from one periodical title may be borrowed within a five-year period without paying royalties (Correct answer)
- ILL requests must be fulfilled within five business days
Correct answer: No more than five copies of articles from one periodical title may be borrowed within a five-year period without paying royalties
The CONTU 'Rule of Five' limits libraries to requesting no more than five copies of articles from the same journal title published within the last five years before royalties must be paid.
Question 4: In ILL terminology, what is a 'lending library'?
- The library that catalogs incoming donated materials
- The library that submits a request on behalf of a patron
- The library that owns and supplies the requested item (Correct answer)
- The library that manages the regional ILL network
Correct answer: The library that owns and supplies the requested item
The lending library is the institution that owns the requested item and sends itâor a copyâto the requesting borrowing library.
Question 5: Which ALA document provides the primary standards and guidelines for ILL operations in the United States?
- ALA Code of Ethics
- Library Bill of Rights
- NISO Interlibrary Services Guidelines
- Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States
The ALA's Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States is the foundational document establishing responsibilities and best practices for ILL in the US.
Question 6: What are 'returnables' in the context of ILL transactions?
- Digital loans that patrons may return early for credit
- Journal article photocopies supplied to patrons via ILL
- Physical items such as books that must be sent back to the lending library (Correct answer)
- Items borrowed between branches within the same library system
Correct answer: Physical items such as books that must be sent back to the lending library
Returnables are physical itemsâtypically booksâthat borrowing patrons must return so the lending library can retrieve them after the loan period ends.
Question 7: What is the name of OCLC's current cloud-based platform for managing interlibrary loan requests?
- OCLC Aleph
- OCLC ILLiad
- OCLC VDX
- OCLC WorldShare ILL (Correct answer)
Correct answer: OCLC WorldShare ILL
OCLC WorldShare ILL is OCLC's current platform for submitting, managing, and tracking ILL requests across participating libraries.
LTA Interlibrary Loan and Resource Sharing 1
What does the acronym 'ILL' stand for in library services?