Is Membership in a Reciprocal Group Affiliation Right for You: A Methodology for Answering that Question

Abstract

Abstract Very few of the group affiliations listed in OCLC’s Policies Directory consist of member libraries that lend books and provide copies of articles to one another at no cost while extending membership to all types of libraries in all geographic locations. Those affiliations that do this without a membership fee are fewer still. However, if you or your library administration is considering joining such a reciprocal affiliation, what impact will doing so have on your library’s ILL borrowing and lending activities? The point of joining is generally two-fold for any OCLC member library: reducing borrowing costs and increasing system functionality with OCLC’s WorldShare ILL via greater use of customs holdings. However, as these affiliations are reciprocal, it is only logical that a library’s ILL lending activity will increase after joining. In this article, the authors present an overview of all current group affiliations in OCLC’s Policies Directory; focus on two very inclusive affiliations in particular, Libraries Very Interested in Sharing (LVIS) and SO6 (SIXX); and provide a methodology via use of OCLC’s Policies Directory and WorldCat to ascertain the potential impact on your library’s ILL activity when joining these two group affiliations or any others listed in the Policies Directory.