TRLN Requesting Interview Study - August 2025

Abstract

In 2025, the Duke University Libraries conducted interviews to better understand the experiences of library users who frequently requested materials from Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN) institutions, which include the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, and North Carolina Central University. In individual interviews, the research team asked 5 frequent TRLN borrowers about their experiences accessing materials from libraries outside of Duke, primarily focusing on their experiences using the TRLN search feature in Duke’s Books & Media Catalog and interlibrary loan (ILL). The goal of this study was to understand how a potential discontinuation of the TRLN search feature would affect its most frequent users at Duke, and to determine what changes the Libraries could implement to best support these users should the feature be discontinued.