Interlibrary Loan between the United States and Latin America: The Current Landscape

Resource sharing between libraries in the United States and Latin America has typically not been robust, despite the two areas’ geographic proximity. Librarians in the United States have suggested potential reasons for this perceived absence of cross-border cooperation, ranging from a lack of participation in WorldCat to turbulent political climates in some areas of the region, but there are few formal studies investigating the current state of resource sharing between Latin American territories and institutions outside that geographic classification. This paper will summarize the results of a survey distributed to librarians and library staff in university libraries in Latin American countries and territories to gather information about the current landscape of resource sharing activities both within and outside of the region. The survey asks about local policies and practices in an attempt to foster greater understanding of how resource sharing looks in a Latin American context and to broaden international understanding of potential collaborations between libraries inside and outside Latin America.