Resources Anytime, Anywhere

University campuses, and their academic libraries, are increasingly interconnected. A major sign of this is the transformation of interlibrary loan into resource sharing. The emergence of resource sharing has brought with it new challenges for the university library. These challenges can be overcome, and the university library can emerge a stronger institution, more connected with the patrons and community it serves. In order to accomplish this transformation, libraries need to learn from the past, and they need to take a leading role in developing future technology to meet the needs of their patrons and of the library itself. Resources Anytime, Anywhere explores the transformation of interlibrary loan into resource sharing by taking a look at the ideas that have motivated the library-developed technologies that have changed the way resource sharing is conducted. The technologies developed by the Texas Tech University libraries and others focus on three main ideas. The first idea is that resource sharing as a work process must be viewed more as logistical management rather than through the traditional lens of just lending books. To that end, the book examines a statistical tracking system with predictive analytics to assess resources sharing transactions. It also considers a logic processing system. Second, the types of resources being shared have evolved beyond the traditional books and articles. This evolution leads to the creation of Occam’s Reader, the first library-developed method to lend eBooks via interlibrary loan. The final characteristic of the new model of resource sharing is connecting with users in different ways. To that end, there have been developments in mobile apps and other systems that allow users to make requests of the resource sharing department directly from any setting. By developing the app, we are able to provide the resources of the library to the patron when they want them at a time when they need them. These three examples illustrate how academic libraries specifically and libraries more generally can take an active role in developing technology to meet the needs of their patrons. Through designing our own products and sharing them with other libraries, we can join the lessons of the past with the technology of today to create a more interconnected library that can meet the evolving needs of library patrons. Describes the theoretical underpinnings of Interlibrary Loan Examines the more contemporary technological issues within Interlibrary LoanConsiders leading edge technologies critical to librariesProvides examples of how libraries can apply these methods at their institution