Session Number
03
Description
Only a few years ago the phrase 'document delivery' was never used in connection with libraries. Instead the term 'inter-library loan' (ILL) was used. The reason for the change is very simple and is due entirely to photocopying machines. Before these existed it was a very cumbersome, slow and expensive operation to màke copies of individual documents from bound books and journals. Photocopying machines allowed the quick and cheap duplication of documents: these copies could be supplied far more cheaply and efficiently than the loan of an item. A second cause was the development of online bibliographic databases which give access to items quickly and easily at the article level. This has allowed the requesting of articles rather than whole volumes. Indeed, many database hosts now offer document ordering systems as part of their services. So, in the last 25 years a whole industry has grown up in document supply. Up to now the process of document supply has largely followed that of inter-library loan, that is essentially a manual operation using conventional postal means for communication of both requests and documents. As the title of this paper suggests we are now on the verge of a new era in document delivery. Again, the changes are caused by technology. This time it is not one single piece of technology but a combination of several developments. The most important of these has been the introduction of the personal computer; other developments include the use of high-capacity optical storage devices, improved telecommunications and the development of facsimile transmission.
The implementation and integration of these technologies does not in itself mean that document delivery systems will develop on their own. There are still many problems to be overcome. This paper, af ter examining the current status of developments, goes on to examine some of the outstanding problems and what their implications may be in the future.
Document Delivery - The Dawn of a New Era
Only a few years ago the phrase 'document delivery' was never used in connection with libraries. Instead the term 'inter-library loan' (ILL) was used. The reason for the change is very simple and is due entirely to photocopying machines. Before these existed it was a very cumbersome, slow and expensive operation to màke copies of individual documents from bound books and journals. Photocopying machines allowed the quick and cheap duplication of documents: these copies could be supplied far more cheaply and efficiently than the loan of an item. A second cause was the development of online bibliographic databases which give access to items quickly and easily at the article level. This has allowed the requesting of articles rather than whole volumes. Indeed, many database hosts now offer document ordering systems as part of their services. So, in the last 25 years a whole industry has grown up in document supply. Up to now the process of document supply has largely followed that of inter-library loan, that is essentially a manual operation using conventional postal means for communication of both requests and documents. As the title of this paper suggests we are now on the verge of a new era in document delivery. Again, the changes are caused by technology. This time it is not one single piece of technology but a combination of several developments. The most important of these has been the introduction of the personal computer; other developments include the use of high-capacity optical storage devices, improved telecommunications and the development of facsimile transmission.
The implementation and integration of these technologies does not in itself mean that document delivery systems will develop on their own. There are still many problems to be overcome. This paper, af ter examining the current status of developments, goes on to examine some of the outstanding problems and what their implications may be in the future.