"Immediately, so to speak"

His motto: interlibrary loans at Oldenburg University Library have to be fast. A visit with Horst Rummel, head of interlibrary loan since 1994.

When I took over interlibrary loan in 1994, it took four weeks to obtain a book. That was standard. The interlibrary loan slip was sent by post. Several libraries were asked if they had the book in stock. The book was then sent to us by post. We wrote down the title and shelfmark and set the loan period. Then we had to notify the customer. Also by post, of course. Today, an interlibrary loan takes a maximum of five days.

I started working at the university library in 1986, when the first personal computers were just being introduced. And that fascinated me. I started labelling the shelves with the first Word programme - a simple piece of software on a milky green PC screen. Later, I was involved in automating cataloguing by importing external data onto over 800 floppy disks.

Then, in the mid-1990s, we introduced computerised cataloguing in the interlibrary loan department. That was a huge relief. Today, a profile is stored for each library. The order number is scanned in, the book title is automatically entered, the loan period is set and the person placing the order is notified. It's all very convenient and time-saving.

What has not changed over the years: We are happy to advise our customers. The contact with them, the cooperation with my colleagues, that's the icing on the cake of my work. In the past, there were quite complex interlibrary loans when scientists wanted current publications from the United States or Russia. We had special interlibrary loan forms for this, and we searched in large bibliographies and catalogues, the National Union Catalog or the Library of Congress, for example. Some of the tomes are even still here in the library - but purely for decorative reasons.

We currently receive 30,000 orders a year from other libraries, which we then supply with books, copies or scan files. Then there are 35,000 orders from our users, which we forward to libraries. And the trend is downwards. Logically, after all, many things are made available in digital form. Nevertheless, I don't believe that digitisation will do away with libraries and their staff. We need to shift our service and offer opportunities for academics and students to access their academic literature more conveniently and quickly. Immediately, so to speak.

Written down by: Tobias Kolb