Giving your patrons the world: Barriers to, and the value of, international interlibrary loan

Using the 2011 and 2015 survey by the Reference and User Services Association Sharing and Transforming Access to Resources Section (RUSA STARS) of international interlibrary loans (ILL), the authors explore barriers to this method of meeting patrons’ information needs. They evaluate international ILL in the context of developments in the information landscape, the United Nations Human Development Index, colonialism, and the current cultural, political, and economic climate. Strategies to improve future access to global information resources are also considered. Despite its challenges, this service meets a demonstrated information need, but further investigation is required to determine its exact value to researchers and where best to focus resources on improvement.