TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERLIBRARY LOAN AND DOCUMENT SUPPLY STAFF

UNESCO commissioned the IFLA Program for the Universal Availability of Publications to examine the problems associated with training staff i n the field of interlibrary loan and document supply. As part of the s tudy, a survey was conducted of training opportunities offered by libr ary associations and library schools to identify areas that are import ant for training and those that are actually taught. Wide variation in opportunities emerged even between different countries with advanced library systems. There was also a considerable discrepancy between top ics taught and those considered important by practitioners of interlib rary loan. Lack of skills and materials was one of the major problems for trainers, as is the fact that others failed to perceive the import ance of this aspect of information work.