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Attention is given to some of the arguments for and against the use of computer‐based networks and services in the United States of America, to likely effects of the new US copyright law, and to the costs of interlibrary lending. The ability of the Federal Republic of Germany to satisfy international loan requests is examined, as is the use of the ISBN in union catalogue construction and its role in interlibrary /ending. The possibility of establishing a central loan collection in New Zealand is considered, and statistics of interlibrary lending in France are presented.

IFLA's Universal Availability of Publications programme is concerned with highlighting and solving problems concerned with the widest possible availability of recorded knowledge. Its concern includes the improvement of access to grey literature (material not available through normal bookselling channels) at both national and international levels. At the national level centralization linking bibliographic control and availability is advocated. A centralized approach has already been adopted in the UK where the British Library Lending Division has developed a fairly comprehensive collection of report literature, translations, theses, conference proceedings and back up documents to synopsis journals etc. Through its monthly publication, British Reports Translations and Theses, it is also involved with the bibliographic control of grey literature.

A review of some recent papers on a variety of aspects of interlibrary lending in the United States, Canada, Australia, Scandinavia and East and West Germany. Particular attention is paid to the problems of net lenders, to possible solutions such as improvements to union catalogues, an efficient library network or centralised collections, and to the associated problems of copyright legislation and publishers. It also looks at the value of telex and the lending of non‐book media.

After a reduced rate of increase in 1977/78, demand resumed its previous growth rate: 8% more requests were received than in the previous year — 6.5% more from British organisations, 17% more from overseas. For items not in Lending Division stock, more requests were sent to back‐up and special support libraries than were supplied with locations. Staff shortages affected the quality and speed of service at times during the year. Progress with the extension to the Urquhart Building was much slower than scheduled, and full occupation is unlikely before early 1980. The non‐postal transport schemes in London and the North West gave substantial savings to participating libraries, and schemes for other regions are being explored. The BLAISE Automatic Document Request Service came into operation, and similar links with other data base operators are being explored. The number of current serials acquired reached 51,450, an increase of 4% over the previous year. Nearly 80,000 volumes of monographs were purchased, and 40,000 donated by other libraries. Numerous research collections in microform were acquired. The purchase of US doctoral dissertations was halted, but nearly all British doctoral theses are now being filmed. Resources were specially allocated to the conservation of stock, with priority being given to older serials and pre‐1801 monographs. Preparations were made for a Cancer Information Service for Developing Countries, in collaboration with the US National Cancer Institute, whereby free searches of the CANCERLINE data bases will be linked with the supply of photocopies of articles identified as being wanted.

Physical access to material has largely been taken for granted but as interlibrary lending has increased so the design of interlending systems needs to be examined. 21 principles of inter/ending systems that are likely to be valid in the great majority of countries are listed, each with a brief introduction. It is hoped that the principles will provoke thought and discussion and perhaps improvements in interlending systems.

Detailed consideration is given to the ability of the interlending system of the Federal Republic of Germany to supply locations for post‐war German language monographs, and to a recent analysis of interlending in France. Other aspects covered are the costs and performance of a co‐operative periodical bank, the impact of location and availability information on an interlending network, and national union catalogues published in microform.

This review considers the construction and value of union catalogues in Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, the Federal Republic of Germany, Australia, the USA and Scandinavia, and to network developments in the USA. Consideration is also given to a call for a national lending library in Japan, and the present state of interlending in the Soviet Union.

A review of recent papers dealing with interlending in New Zealand, Nigeria and West Germany and the problems of centralised collections, communication, and union catalogues.

The reviews of interlending and document supply appearing regularly in this journal are themselves reviewed to give a world picture of interlending in the years 1975 to 1985. National and international lending have increased. National and international systems have been planned and performance improved in some countries. Others have seen little progress. Union catalogues and subject specialist collections have their part to play, but the greatest development has been in networks, particularly OCLC. Interlending is still beset by questions of the costs of services, of charging and copyright. Developments in new technology have still to make much impact on document supply, although various projects in this area are already in hand.

The title of this paper rather implies that UAP is concerned specifically with grey literature, therefore I shall begin with some clarification of the UAP programme. While considerable effort has been put into publicizing the programme, I am confident that not all will be familiar with it and that some may not even know what the initials stand for, which is—Universal Availability of Publications. UAP is an objective and a programme developed by IFLA—the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions—which enjoys the full support of Unesco. The objective is the widest possible availability of published material (that is, recorded knowledge issued for public use) to intending users, wherever and whenever they need it, as an essential element in economic, scientific, technical, social, educational and personal development. To work towards this objective the programme aims to improve availability at all levels, from the local to the international, and at all stages, from the publication of new material to the retention of last copies, both by positive action and by the removal of barriers. It should be seen as a major element in a wider concept of Universal Access to Information. It concerns most of the activities of a conventional library, but only that part of the activities of a documentation centre or information service related to the collection and supply of publications. It may be noted though, that the distinction between traditional libraries and documentation centres is becoming increasingly indistinct, and that new publishing methods using machine‐readable processes are contributing to a gradual but accelerating erosion of distinctions between various kinds of supplier. Publishers will probably take on some of the roles of libraries and vice versa, with increasing contact and co‐operation between the sectors. This is an area to which I shall return later.