From interlending to resource sharing between scholars?: an analysis of recent developments

Abstract

Even though resource sharing between scholars is evolving rapidly, we still have paper-based interlibrary lending (ILL) procedures in use. However, the current business model of acquiring toll-access journals and e-books does not seem to fit very well with traditional ILL practices. In addition, the new models of peer-to-peer resource sharing between academics seem to be much more effective than ILL. Scholars arrange access to the needed publications by using legal (buying, exchanging) and illegal means (Sci-Hub, etc.) for accessing the publications they need. Furthermore, the demands for open access (OA) have increased, voiced not only by librarians and science funders but also by politicians. This development might change the scholarly publication ecosystem, even though older publications are still likely to remain closed. In the present paper, we contrast the ILL and usage statistics of Finnish university libraries with the use of ResearchGate, a popular academic social network, which we treat as an example of a peer-to-peer sharing service. Based on the data, we attempt to understand how resource sharing, on the one hand formally between institutions, and on the other hand informally between scholars, will develop in the digital and increasingly open future.