Interlending and document supply in the context of Spanish library consortia

Purpose - The paper's aim is to provide insights into interlending and document supply (ILDS) practices in Spain in the current environment of library consortia and to present recent trends in academic ILDS services. Design/methodology/approach - An overview of the Spanish library system is provided followed by a more detailed look at cooperation generally and interlending and document supply specifically. Finally a survey of researchers and their use of e-journals and alternative methods of access in a medical library. Findings - After some years of decline interlending and document supply is experiencing modest increases. Some interesting results from the survey on the tolerance to use document supply instead of low use journals are found. Originality/value - The paper presents a current overview of the situation in Spain for library cooperation, interlending and document supply.