Interlibrary loan is most known for borrowing and supplying scholarly materials not held locally by the library, but a lesser known fact about the unit is that it also serves as a data center which can be used to inform and improve the work done in other areas. This session will provide two examples of how ILLiad, an interlibrary loan software, was used to collect and share data with other units to improve workflows and services. At Austin Peay State University, ILLiad data was used to gain a holistic understanding of the information needs of various patron groups, which led to projects like purchasing digital access to resources requested by distance students, identifying collection gaps, purchasing titles repeatedly requested by students, and implementing a faculty buy-not-borrow policy. Similarly, ILLiad was used at Louisiana State University to report electronic resource access issues to the newly hired Electronic Resources Librarian. A year’s worth of data revealed the most common types of access issues impacting LSU’s electronic resources, training opportunities for ILL staff, and most significantly, the revelation that ILL staff and troubleshooters engage in many of the same procedures to carry out their work, prompting her to wonder if the intersection of ILL request processing and troubleshooting present an opportunity for restructuring. Time will be allotted for questions from audience members.
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