Short series: Building smarter library networks in South Africa
Interlibrary loan: extending access across a connected library ecosystem
No single library can hold everything its users may need. While shared cataloguing creates visibility across collections, the next step is enabling access — ensuring that users can obtain materials beyond the limits of a single institution.
Within a connected library ecosystem, interlibrary loan (ILL), also referred to as interlending, plays this role. It transforms shared knowledge into shared access, allowing libraries to respond more effectively to user needs while making better use of existing resources.
From visibility to access
Shared cataloguing makes collections visible across institutions. It allows libraries to know what exists, where it is held, and how it can be accessed. Interlibrary loan builds directly on this foundation.
Once a resource is identified through a shared catalogue, interlibrary loan enables it to be requested and supplied from another institution. In this way, libraries are no longer limited to their own holdings but can draw on the collective strength of a wider network.
Resource sharing through interlibrary loan remains one of the most effective ways for libraries to extend access to materials beyond their local collections, as highlighted in international guidance from IFLA.
This shift from individual collections to shared access reflects a broader direction within the library sector. Research by Ithaka S+R highlights how libraries increasingly collaborate to achieve greater scale, thereby improving efficiency, strengthening services, and enabling wider access to resources across institutions.
Interlibrary loan is one of the most practical expressions of this principle, allowing libraries to extend access beyond their own holdings and move closer to the idea of a more unified, networked collection.
See: Shared cataloguing: the foundation of a connected library ecosystem.
Expanding access through collaboration
For many libraries, the challenge is not only to provide access, but to do so within constrained budgets. Interlibrary loan offers a practical solution by enabling resource sharing rather than resource duplication.
Instead of acquiring every item that may be needed or subscribing to every digital resource that may be required, libraries can access materials from partner institutions, reduce unnecessary duplication across collections, and make better use of existing investments.
This approach supports more sustainable collection development, particularly in environments where budgets are limited but user expectations continue to grow. At the same time, interlibrary loan improves responsiveness, enabling libraries to meet more complex or specialised information needs.
Within this networked environment, collections are no longer confined to a single branch. Instead, users benefit from shared access across the wider system, supported by coordinated processes and enabling technologies that connect libraries and their resources.
In practice, this is already a well-established part of the South African library environment. Academic libraries regularly rely on interlibrary loan to support research where materials are not held locally. These services enable researchers to request materials beyond local collections, supporting advanced research and teaching.
In practical terms, this means that a researcher needing a specific article or book chapter is not limited by their institution’s collection but can access materials held across the wider library network.
Through Sabinet’s Resource Sharing offering, covering ReQuest (National Interlending). As well as Tipasa and OCLC’s Resource Sharing, which facilitates international interlending. ILL requests move through a structured workflow that replaces fragmented, manual arrangements with a coordinated service experience. Over the past 12 months (May 2025 – April 2026), the average turnaround time for filled requests (borrower view) was five days overall, with copies averaging two days and physical loans averaging 14 days, reflecting differences in material type and delivery logistics.
Currently, 19 South African libraries form part of the OCLC Express program, boasting average turnaround times of less than 18 hours for copies of digital resources.
Interlibrary loan is most effective within a well-coordinated network of participating libraries. Standardised processes, reliable metadata, and clear workflows all contribute to efficient request and delivery cycles.
Through ReQuest, Sabinet enables South African libraries to participate in interlibrary loan networks that are structured, efficient and responsive. Requests can be managed centrally, holdings identified quickly, and materials supplied across institutions in a coordinated way.
For libraries, this means improved turnaround times, greater visibility of available resources, and a more seamless service experience for users. It also supports collaboration between institutions of different sizes. Allowing smaller libraries to benefit from the depth and diversity of larger collections.
Enabling collaboration at scale
As library networks grow, the need to manage resource sharing efficiently becomes increasingly important. Interlibrary loan systems must integrate with cataloguing data, support real-time workflows, and operate at scale across multiple institutions.
This is where modern library management systems play a critical role. Cloud-based platforms bring together cataloguing, discovery and resource sharing into a unified environment, enabling libraries to manage collaboration more effectively.
In the next article in this series
We look at how modern library management systems enable this level of coordination, supporting shared cataloguing and interlibrary loan within a fully connected, scalable ecosystem.