Comparing open access search tools to improve interlibrary loan fulfillment efficiency

Open access (OA) search tools can expedite the turnaround of interlibrary loan (ILL) fulfillment by locating openly available articles not found by library harvesting tools. Several search tools are available, but no comparison has been done of their efficacy in the context of ILL. Six OA search tools were evaluated using 153 ILL article requests for quantity of openly available articles found, accuracy of results, and value. Article availability was analyzed by publication year and broad academic discipline. Google and Google Scholar outperformed specialty OA search tools, although they were more prone to error and more likely to locate pre-publications.