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Keywords

information retrieval, open repositories, Interlibrary loan, barriers to access, scholarly communications, digital humanities, library technology systems, academic libraries

Abstract

Automated information systems (AIS), including inter library loan (ILL) systems, aggregated databases, institutional repositories, and artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced search engines provide the information seeker with many more tools and opportunities to identify information of interest in libraries more quickly and easily than was previously possible. However, although identification of resources may now be easier, there can still be multiple barriers to information retrieval, both technological and human.

This paper follows up on the project presented at a previous CULS conference on the necessity of human interaction to ensure the success of ILL transactions (Smith and Velasquez, 2023), and presents new findings on the many ways in which automated information systems by themselves and in conjunction with human decisions or misunderstanding of the automated systems can hinder accessibility to information that is apparently freely available.

Topics covered include cataloging and metadata, especially the need to update metadata to reflect the digitization of older materials in the collection; “open access” materials that are embargoed or partially embargoed; “open” repositories that are restricted to users from the degree-granting institution; conflicting policies on retrieval and lending of items from off-site storage; and again the extensive human interaction required to obtain access.

The paper highlights the need for librarians at both ends of the information transaction to overcome the access barriers that can be created by automated systems. It also offers an opportunity for academic librarians to reflect on the ways in which the increased findability of library materials, particularly older library materials, creates an information demand that can be frustrated by the way in which automated information systems in the library are configured, by library policies that do not take into account the new information environment, and by lack of librarian understanding, all of which can frustrate the successful retrieval of desired information.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

References

Dillard, P. H. (1991). How quaint the ways of paradox: An annotated Gilbert & Sullivan bibliography. Scarecrow Press.

Lowry, C. B. (2006). ETDs and digital repositories--a disciplinary challenge to open access? Libraries and the Academy, 6(4), 387-393.

Microform. (2025, August, 26). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Microform&oldid=1307997499

Rupp-Serrano, K., & Waller, J. (2018). Dissertation-to-book publishing patterns among a sample of R1 institutions. Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication, 6, 1-23. Doi: 10.7710/2162-3309.2187

Smith, A. J. M. (2023). Selective availability: Problems in accessing older dissertation and thesis research. 2nd International Online Conference on Digital Transformation in Culture and Education (DTCE 22), Belgrade, Serbia. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7715087

Smith, A. J. M., & Velasquez, D. (2023). Beyond the software: The importance of personal communication to ensure access in complex ILL and other borrowing transactions. Proceedings of the Kansas Library Association College and University Libraries Section, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.4148/2160-942X.1090

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