In the old times we use librarys to order articles as a photocopy by surface mail or maybe later as a scan. It does cost a bit per page (paying for copyright and handling), but I got all my articles that I could not find at my university library that way. It can take some weeks or even months to get them, but if you know where it is published and which pages you need this should be still a way to get this article.
Did even work with my local library of my home town, but was a bit more expensive and took even longer (mainly to find out from which library they could get the article). They typically start the search regional then national and only go international if really needed. That takes some time, but might be quicker now with electronic catalogs.
Electronic catalogs can only take you so far. The person seeking the article has to know which journal, which volume of the journal, and the page numbers and ask specifically for that. The other libraries will not bird-dog this for you. Online catalogs are not that granular to provide this level of detail.
You would need to consult an electronic database or an old print bibliography to gather the minutiae.
Plus, you are at the mercy of the people on the other end with regard to turnaround time, even if the article can be located. They will send it when they get around to it.



