ABSTRACT
Statistics are necessary in Interlibrary Loan (ILL), not only to measure past activity, but also to identify trends in usage. The size and scope of statistics gathered in ILL departments varies greatly. The department may collect only basic statistics, while another may be required to provide detailed statistics not only to the administration, but to its consortial leadership as well. Supervisors should judiciously use statistics to learn more about their operations, and to set qualitative goals for their departments. For example, the supervisor of the Interlibrary Loan department might set the goal of achieving an 85% fill rate for fiscal year 2000-2001. This would be a 9% increase over the 1999-2000 fiscal year. It is important to emphasize that supervisors should gather statistics that will prove useful in analyzing departmental activities. Depending upon the individual situation, the ILL department may also be called upon to provide data on items requested by patrons for collection development use.
