The Decline of the Number of Interlibrary Loans by Medical Students in a Small Academic Medical Library: A Study of 18 Years of Data |
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| Authors: | Felicia A Barrett |
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| Institution: | University of Illinois , |
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| Abstract: | The objective of this study is to provide data on one aca-demic medical library's experience with first and second year medical students’ use of interlibrary loan at the Indiana University School of Medicine–Northwest, Steven C. Beering Medical Library. The results of a study of 18 years of data show a substantial decline of interlibrary loans by medical students. Several factors, including the unique problem-based learning curriculum and the availability of online journals, which has expanded a small medical library's collection, may be responsible for the reduction of interlibrary loan. This study suggests the need for collection development librarians to understand their medical school curriculum and to invest in the most useful electronic journals for their medical students’ education needs. |
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| Keywords: | Interlibrary loan problem-based learning online journals medical students |
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