Interlibrary borrowing and the information-seeking process

This thesis reports research conducted within the context of a paradigm shift in contemporary librarianship from collection building to information access. The research, based upon work by Skelton (1973) and Wilson (1981), tests the assumptions which underlie both paradigms. First, the concept of a self-sufficient collection is tested statistically, using data from Australian libraries, and the results are compared with similar analyses of American data (Paustian, 1981). The results show that interlibrary borrowing is positively correlated with collection size, and thus that the assumption of the self-sufficient collection is false. Second, Stone's survey (1983) of interlibrary borrowing users in Sheffield (UK) was replicated in academic libraries in Australia and the USA. This showed that the users of interlibrary borrowing are generally satisfied with the service. Third, the information seeking habits of staff in a Western Australian government department were surveyed. This confirmed Skelton's observation (1973) that information seekers' preferences amongst information sources are based on the formality of the information source. The results also confirmed Wilson's model of information seeking pathways (1981). From these results it is inferred that the collection building paradigm is based on a fallacy, and that the information access paradigm is better suited to the needs of information seekers. However, the results suggest that the information seeking habits of library nonusers need to be studied before the information access paradigm could be confidently applied to the design of library services.