The ILL Service in the Biblioteca Nacional de España

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the recent developments implemented in the ILL Service in the Biblioteca Nacional de España, aimed at a customer‐focused approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on those facts and activity figures reported between 2006 and the first semester of 2009 within the ILL Service.

Findings

As a result of the implementation of a series of quality standards (promotion of off‐site options, automation of workflows, review of procedures), a customer‐focused approach has been built in the ILL Service. Performance evaluation is a crucial issue in order to provide a better service and to benchmark with similar units in national libraries. The implementation of new electronic services and the great digitisation projects provide a larger visibility of national collections as well as an increase in ILL demand. The ILL Service continues to play a key role in cooperation and support for research, mainly in Hispanic studies.

Originality/value

The paper highlights the major quality measures introduced in the last few years in order to meet new customer needs in the ILL Service offered by the National Library of Spain. It also incorporates the impact of the main digitisation projects on the ILL Service.

Citation

Albelda, B. and Abella, S. (2010), "The ILL Service in the Biblioteca Nacional de España", Interlending & Document Supply, Vol. 38 No. 1, pp. 49-53. https://doi.org/10.1108/02641611011025370