FIL Articles
Explore articles, case studies, and contributions from FIL members on interlending and information delivery. Our members share real-world insights and best practices, covering everything from document supply innovations to practical challenges faced by interlibrary loan professionals. These articles aim to inform and support the community with relevant, hands-on knowledge.
If you’re a FIL member with experience or findings to share, we welcome your contribution. Publishing through FIL offers an opportunity to inform peers, highlight practical solutions, and support ongoing improvements in the field. To submit an article, please contact us.
Interlending in 1989: A Trip Down Memory Lane
As FIL continues to evolve and embrace new challenges, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on where we started. The FIL journal archive offers a fascinating record of interlending’s journey, and what better place to begin than the very first issue? Ah, 1989—the year...
Got a Story to Share? FIL Wants to Hear from You!
Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just getting started in interlending, your experiences, ideas, and challenges are what make our FIL community vibrant and valuable. We’re inviting members to contribute articles that highlight what’s happening on the ground in...
Systematic Reviews and Interlibrary Loans: Navigating Copyright Compliance
This article draws on work carried at Leeds Beckett Library by Rachel Davies (Academic Librarian), Tom Lennox (Library Services Supervisor - Lending), and Liesl Rowe (Senior Digital Library Advisor - Copyright) and is based on a presentation given by Tom and Liesl at...
The End of an Era: Saying Goodbye to the Last of the Regional Transport Schemes
The Northern Region said a fond farewell to our regional van system, and I wanted to share a few thoughts because it truly is an end of an era for ILL. For those of you who are relatively new to interlending, you probably don’t appreciate how the regional van used to...
Exploratory Analysis of ILL Demand at the University of Northampton
At the Forum for Interlending (FIL) events held in 2022, several colleagues from different institutions commented that there has been a decrease in demand for inter-library loans (ILL). The University of Northampton has also seen changes in its ILL service. This...
One Form to Rule Them All…. Update
In the world of ILL, nothing ever stands still and Durham’s experience with a single resource request form (FIL Journal, issue 70, February 2022, pages 21-25) is certainly no exception. During the COVID pandemic we set up a single form to cut through the confusion of...
The FIL Journal Is Moving to a Blog
Change is in the air at the Forum for Interlending. As part of our ongoing efforts to keep pace with the needs of our members, we’re transitioning the FIL Journal to a blog format, hosted right here on our existing website. Why the Switch? Our reading habits have...