In 1992 the Association of Research Libraries (ARL),
conducted the first major ILL cost study in North America
and found that research libraries spent on average *$18.62 to
borrow (ranging from $9.84 to $30.27) and $10.93 (ranging
from $6.92 to $17.49) to lend via ILL.10 The follow-up study11
by ARL expanded the research to all four ILL performance
measures and increased the library sample from seventy-six to
ninety-seven research libraries. ILL costs appeared to have
declined slightly to $18.35 for borrowing and $9.48 for lending.
Additionally, twenty-two college libraries were questioned, that
showed significantly lower ILL borrowing costs of $12.08 and
lending costs of $7.25.11 The ARL methodology was subsequently
adapted for use in Australia and the Nordic countries
(Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden). In Australia,
the average borrowing unit cost was AU$32.09,12 while
research in the Nordic revealed an average borrowing unit cost
of o12.56 and average lending cost of o7.24