A library network model
William B. Rouse · Journal of the American Society for Information Science · 1976
Abstract The performance of an interlibrary loan network is characterized by the probability of satisfying a request, delay in satisfying a request, total and unit costs, and processing load on each network member. In this article, a distributed queueing network is used to model this situation. The general structure can be specialized to a ring structure or a centralized structure. A hypothetical network situation is used to discuss the effects of network dispersion and distribution of resources on several policy issues. These issues include request routing, reimbursement and possible investments in computer technology.