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Interlibrary loan is one of the major elements in library cooperation and resource sharing. In the information age, interlibrary loan is very important for all kinds of libraries. From reviewing the library and information science literature, numerous studies have been conducted to evaluate interlibrary loan services from the user''s perspective. However, very little research in Taiwan has examined the factors affecting the satisfactory level of interlibrary loan users. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigate (1)the status of interlibrary loan usage in medical libraries; (2)the factors which can have an effect on user satisfaction of interlibrary loan service; (3)the user''s evaluation of interlibrary loan services in National Taiwan University Medical Library; and (4)the changes of interlibrary loan services in the electronic environment. The questionnaire survey, personal interview and literature review methods were utilized in gathering data for the study. 144 questionnaires were collected from interlibrary loan service users at National Taiwan University Medical Library in order to answer the research questions. According to the result of the study, the factors affecting the satisfactory level of interlibrary loan service users are as follows: frequency of use, turnaround time, price, success rate, past experience, visits in person, union catalog use, obstacles in the process, delivery mode, document quality, information broker use, etc. This study found that there is significant correlation between obstacles in the process, document quality and user satisfaction. Five suggestions were raised in the end, it includes areas of union catalog, speed and quality of document delivery, the structure and policy of pricing, the models of interlibrary loan service for hospital libraries and the management issues.
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