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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the single point of access to the collections of the European National Libraries via The European Library. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a description of The European Library. Findings – The emphasis in this article is on user expectations with regards to access, but more importantly to the content behind the record. It describes how the European Library is responding to these expectations, rather than a general description of developments. Originality/value – The paper provides a useful overview. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to review the current library and information science (LIS) literature for document supply, resource sharing and other issues such as open access (OA) that have an impact on the service.Design/methodology/approach The approach is based on the scanning of about 150 journals, reports, websites and blogs.Findings Of the 13 articles and reports reviewed, 12 are freely available, continuing the trend of increasing OA. As always, these days, much is happening on the OA front. Big Deals, demand-driven acquisition and discovery tools are reviewed.Originality/value The only regular literature review that focuses on interlending, document supply and related issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The paper aims to show how using a resource-sharing service can help you provide more resources to your users.Design/methodology/approach This paper discusses interlibrary loan challenges and opportunities, specifically with reference to WorldShare Interlibrary Loan.Findings This paper describes the service that connects libraries to the largest cooperative resource-sharing network with more than 10,000 borrowing and lending libraries worldwide, the possibilities for the future, facts and figures and how libraries around the world have used the solution successfully.Originality/value This paper looks at how WorldShare Interlibrary Loan can help libraries overcome the challenges that they face regarding resource sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the value and benefits from newly developed relationships between the University of Alberta Libraries’ Interlibrary Loan Department and other institutions through the delivery of new services.Design/methodology/approach The paper is a descriptive review of the new services provided, including a centralized interlibrary loan service for members of the NEOS Consortium and an article delivery service for Can Tho University Library (Vietnam), an overview of the implementation of the services and a discussion of the value and benefits created.Findings A single-point of intake for interlibrary loan requests for a group of academic libraries can be implemented successfully with few drawbacks, providing benefits to all the participants. An article delivery service to an institution that provides no interlibrary loan services provides value through access to new resources and demonstrates not to be a burden on the provider; yet, this paper demonstrates that the primary value is in learning about their patrons’ needs.Practical implications Other institutions could replicate these services and relationships.Originality/value Single-point of intake for interlibrary loan in academic consortial environments has neither been demonstrated in the literature nor has any component of interlibrary loan been described to support international initiatives to assist libraries in disadvantaged countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to review the current library and information science (LIS) literature for document supply, resource sharing and other issues such as open access (OA) that have an impact on the service. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is based on the scanning of about 150 journals, reports, Web sites and blogs. Findings – Nearly all material reviewed is freely available, continuing the trend of increasing OA. As always, these days, much is happening on the OA front. Big deals and Scholarly Communications are reviewed along with ebooks, users and of course ILL. Originality value – The only regular literature review that focuses on interlending, document supply and related issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to present updated statistics demonstrating the value of cataloging free Internet resources and the challenges of batch loading, vendor records, electronic resource modules and discovery tools, as an update to the 2008 paper in this journal Design/methodology/approach – Updates the statistics from the URL redirection system for tracking user access to freely available Web publications. Findings – With more projects and bibliographic records included within the scope of the project, users still find and use the links to outbound content. New technologies and management methods support the cataloging of free Web content, even if, at times, cataloging standards are compromised. Originality/value – Several studies have focused on US federal document clickthroughs from the library catalog, but this is the only study to exclusively track clickthroughs to freely available Web content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to update information on ReadCube Access and briefly reviews its history. The study also reports on the use of ReadCube Access by five US academic libraries. Design/methodology/approach – A series of questions was distributed to selected academic libraries using ReadCube Access. Survey recipients were asked to describe the library and the institution served, how long ReadCube Access has been in use, how many journals from Nature Publishing Group (NPG) were licensed and how many journals were being provided using ReadCube Access. Participating libraries were also asked to provide information about the purchase options offered to end-users, were asked to report on ReadCube Access usage and were requested to compare that usage to interlibrary loan (ILL) requests for NPG journals. Finally, the libraries were asked to share any comments about ReadCube Access they wished, including end user feedback and comments from library staff. Findings – ReadCube Access is shown to be cost-effective and more heavily used than interlibrary loan. End-users are enthused by the instantaneous delivery of articles, and most libraries are generally pleased with the sustainability of this unmediated service. Some end-users are confused and annoyed by the differences in using ReadCube Access compared with the familiar use of subscriptions. A failing of ReadCube Access is that it only offers content from one publisher. Originality/value – This paper fulfils an identified need for an update on ReadCube Access and a study on the experiences of various libraries using it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an update of Resource Sharing services at the University of Wollongong (UOW) Library two years after a complete review was undertaken to provide a financially viable service relevant to the research support needs of University clients. This paper provides an update of the service two years on. Design/methodology/approach – The UOW Library has been attentive to global changes in the resource sharing industry and document supply services. Unmediated resource sharing options are growing and assuming an increasing portion of requests received from clients. UOW’s involvement in new services has focused attention on the value of its collection, particularly the last national copy of a publication. By ensuring these unique titles remain in the collection indefinitely, they can be shared with other libraries through resource sharing arrangements. Ensuring staff workplace health and safety during the ongoing transformation in the delivery of services is an important element in the continued viability of resource sharing at UOW. Findings – The 2011-2013 review of UOW Library Resource Sharing services has resulted in a viable and relevant service that is adaptable to the changing needs of UOW clients and institutional directions into the near future. Unmediated requesting continues to assume a greater share of the requesting workload, though staff expertise is equally important in supporting this service. A future challenge for the UOW Library is the rising cost of postage for the sharing of loans across institutions. Originality/value – This case study demonstrates how an academic library can transform its resource sharing service for ongoing relevance and cost-effectiveness. Taking a holistic view of the service, in terms of people, costs and services, is important to ensure the overall viability of the service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the document delivery service according to user perception, and a usage analysis was done to inform collection building and refining. This is especially important in a high-calibre research community, where the usage, interests and research groups and disciplines are still evolving. Design/methodology/approach -- To collect the responses of document delivery service users, an online questionnaire was used with 12 multiple-choice questions and two open-ended questions. The questionnaires were sent only to the users of this service, and the responses were collected anonymously. Two surveys were conducted, in 2010 and 2013, with the same questions. The responses are displayed graphically prepared to compare the results. There were 71 responses in 2010 and 95 in 2013. Findings -- In both surveys, the majority of users rated the service, staff behaviour, speed, quality, etc. with a high satisfaction level. Document delivery order statistics are a major decision-making tool, in addition to usage analysis, for developing a better, economical and highly utilized collection in brand new libraries. Originality/value -- This is the first published study of user perception of document delivery in Saudi Arabia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to review the current LIS literature for document supply, resource sharing and other issues such as open access (OA) that have an impact upon the service. Design/methodology/approach -- The approach is based on the scanning of about 150 journals, reports, websites and blogs. Findings -- Lorcan Dempsey from OCLC looks into the future. Patron-driven acquisition and pay per view continue to receive much attention. There is considerable debate on the development of OA as the pace increases; of particular interest is Schöpfel on the impact of OA on document supply. Originality/value -- This is the only regular literature review that focuses on interlending and document supply and related issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of copyright law changes in the UK, especially as they affect interlibrary loan. Design/methodology/approach -- Analysis of new legislation were tested against interlibrary needs. Findings -- The new laws bring major benefits to libraries and their users by expanding the types of material available and simplifying the management procedures required for document delivery. Practical implications -- Libraries and other institutions can now offer a much wider range of services. Social implications -- There are considerable benefits to individual users, including those with disabilities, as access is granted to a wider range of materials. Originality/value -- New research and analysis relating to laws passed in October 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Purpose -- This paper aims to review the current LIS literature for document supply and related topics. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper is based on the scanning of about 150 journals, reports and websites, blogs etc. Findings -- Of great interest this quarter are two studies on journal half-lives which impact on the embargo length debate. Also a study that shows a decline in the free accessibility of journal articles. More on patron-driven acquisition and Big Deals. Originality/value -- This is the only regular review of the literature that focuses on document supply and related issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Purpose -- The purpose of this study was to examine youth service librarians' use of collaborative collection development (CCD) behaviors and interlibrary loan (ILL) to collaborate with school librarians. Design/methodology -- A quantitative design was implemented with a self-administered survey that was placed online. Findings -- Public youth services librarians in the USA believe it is important to collaborate with school librarians. However, they are not frequently using collaborative resource sharing strategies. Public youth services librarians that have more experience, understand trends and issues in school libraries and feel they have knowledge of collaborative strategies are more likely to engage in collaborative resource sharing. Research limitations -- The study was limited to 265 public librarians serving youth in the USA. This study does not present the perspectives of school libraries. Social implications -- CCD and ILL between public and school libraries are overlooked practices for building relationships between public and school librarians that should be explored. Presenting the benefits of these strategies during training programs may increase the resources that youth can access, thus having an overall impact on the quality of life in communities. Collaborating will also help communities understand the value of libraries as institutions for promoting lifelong learning. Originality/value -- The results provide evidence that public youth service librarians in the USA believe in the importance of collaborative relationships with school librarians. However, they do not frequently use ILL or engage in CCD behaviors with school librarians. Using ILL and CCD are two strategies that may be used to build stronger relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a papers discussing the enhancing resource sharing with a state of the art transportation system in the University of South Africa's Open Distance Learning (ODL) institution. It mentions that an investigation into automated transportation systems in the university's libraries was carried out. It also mentions that the library also has mobile libraries to support students in rural areas in South Africa.

The article presents on the challenges of electronic (e)-book lending in a digital world. It mentions that as the acquisition of e-resources increases in libraries, access to this material through interlibrary loan and document delivery comes into question. It also mentions that the National Library of Australia has been collecting electronic publications for many years, starting with compact disc (CD) read-only memory (ROM), and then adding serial subscriptions, web archiving, and e-books.

The article presents a case study on the of Open Access (OA) publications in journals and repositories affecting the document delivery services in China. Topics discussed include president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lu Yongxiang singing the Berlin Declaration, Capital Normal University Library (CNUL) began offering document delivery services, and investigation to discover the attitudes of users toward OA through a questionnaire.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify contributing factors, both internal and external, that will ensure a successful collaboration between Omani academic libraries. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research approach was adopted, and 23 individual interviews were conducted with representatives from participating libraries. Findings – Collaboration among Omani libraries is a complex situation and its chances for success are dependent upon a host of factors, including the participating libraries' staffing, management, financial resources, and available technology as well as support from university administrators. Originality/value – This paper presents the findings of original research conducted by the author and reports on the nascent stages of library cooperation in Oman and in a region that is not often covered in library literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the literature concerning interlending and document supply. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the reading of over 130 journals and related material. Findings – Some interesting findings on document supply including an important Outsell report on document suppliers and some research showing that whilst users expect and often make do with what is immediately available, nonetheless over half of the responders use document supply services. Some substantial pieces are reviewed on Big Deals including the dramatic growth in deposits as a result of toughening up the NIH mandate and some further articles on the UK Finch report on open access. The significant developments in Open Access are reflected once again in a lengthy section in this review. Originality/value – The paper represents a useful resource for librarians and others concerned with interlending and document supply as well as such related matters as resource sharing and open access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review and assess the first five years of BALIS interlibrary loan service and propose directions for future service development. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a case study approach to review the consortium's service offerings and clientele, assess challenges encountered in the first few years of service, propose service improvements, and make recommendations for the development of future strategic alliances. Findings – There are some shortcomings of the system that limit the expansion of interlibrary loan services such as the low satisfaction rate and the high shipping costs. Originality/value – This paper updates an earlier study of BALIS ILL services published in 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to report on conference programs, panel discussions, initiatives, and developments of interest to the resource sharing community. Design/methodology/approach – The report summarizes conference events. Findings – The author reports on relevant sessions held at the specified conference, supplemented by presentations, handouts, meeting minutes, and videos posted online after the conference. Originality/value – The report summarizes conference events addressing all forms and aspects of resource sharing and related subjects such as copyright, licensing, electronic resources, library consortia, and assessment. Issues covered are of interest to resource sharing managers and front line staff around the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to describe the library consortium experienced at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria. Activities involved improving researchers' timely access to resources for research for development. Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken was a librarian interview and observation of library records. Findings – The consortium involves agricultural libraries in both developing and developed countries. Using the library software Inmagic database enhances the web-based centralized online public access catalogue of all the participating institutions, the CGV Library. This enabled access to their comprehensive collections, promoting better library services to agricultural researchers. Hence, it bridges the digital gap between developing and developed countries. They are involved in joint acquisition of electronic journals and timely response to sharing their independent collections through electronic document delivery services. Practical implications – The paper recommends that Nigerian libraries, especially agricultural research institutes, could emulate the IITA library consortium. Originality/value – The paper provides recommendations to libraries wishing to form consortia in Nigeria and notes the positive impacts that this would have on national development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's insights on being an editor for the journal "Interlending & Document Supply" (ILDS), and his 35-year experience in interlibrary loan (ILL) and document supply. The author states that the growth in publications will continue if the stagnation and decline in Western countries will be balanced by growth in areas such as Russia, China and India. The importance of ILL, document supply, or document delivery in this period of increasing austerity is also discussed.

The article presents a study which focuses on the use of I-Share domestic monographs as a collection assessment at College and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI). The study employed Voyager system for shared online catalog equipped with patron-initiated borrowing. Results revealed that the numbers of copies purchased by I-Share fell into the categories including low overlap with low use, high overlap with high use, and a middle area with a high number of copies with low to middle use.

Purpose -- The purpose of this survey is to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of interlibrary loan (ILL) at the RBI Library in Croatia. Design/methodology/approach -- Various indices were measured including: the percentage of fulfilled ILL requests, the difference between copy and loan requests, the difference between requests fulfilled free of charge and fee-based and also to calculate the document delivery time. The analyzed data on received ILL requests were gathered via an in-house-developed application for ILL called SEND, via which RBI researchers submit their ILL requests to the RBI Library. Findings -- This survey showed a high percentage of fulfilled ILL requests (94.6 percent), but there was also a surprisingly high percentage of cancelled ILL requests, because RBI Library owned the requested documents (21.8 percent). Most ILL requests were copy requests and the analysis of the gathered data showed a trend of acquiring more documents free of charge. Delivery time has decreased in the period of the survey, and in 2008 it was less than six working days for copy requests and approximately ten days for loan requests. The delivery time was shorter for fee-based requests. Originality/value -- This paper presents a systematic analysis of the ILL service at the RBI Library for a six-year period (2003-2008). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this study is to identify and examine the factors that affected the scale of ILL photocopy requests between Japanese university libraries from 1994 to 2008. Design/methodology/approach -- Based on the newly developed conceptual framework to interpret the rise and fall in ILL, more than 10 million requests, sent through a nation-wide system called NACSIS-ILL from 1994 to 2008 were quantitatively analyzed. Findings -- The number of photocopy requests for articles in foreign journals started to decrease in 2000, due to the dramatic increase of e-journal titles made accessible through "Big Deal" contracts that came into effect in 2002 as well as other similar trials prior to it. On the other hand, requests for articles in domestic journals, mostly written in Japanese, continued to increase until 2006. The main factor for this increase was the expansion of journal title coverage in bibliographic databases, which enabled users to retrieve more references. However , requests decreased in 2007, because of advances in digitization in the Japanese academic environment. Research limitations/implications -- This research proposes a conceptual model to understand document demand and service patterns observed in nation-wide ILL services. It also successfully draws a comprehensive picture of ILL in Japanese higher education institutions, based on more than 10 million request records over 15 years, and it shows how the number of ILL requests correlates with the availability of requested journals in electronic form. Originality/value -- This research proposes a conceptual model to understand document demand and service patterns observed in nation-wide ILL services. It also successfully draws a comprehensive picture of ILL in Japanese higher education institutions, based on more than 10 million request records over 15 years, and it shows how the number of ILL requests correlates with the availability of requested journals in electronic form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to describe the development of one transactional access/pay-per-view model and its current and anticipated impact on ILL at one US university. Design/methodology/approach -- The services at Murray State University (MSU) are described and the impact of one year of PPV implementation assessed. Some general implications are explored. Findings -- It found that PPV has not yet had a correlative impact on ILL at MSU but this is likely to change as PPV expands. Originality/value -- The paper shows this to be one of a number of empirical studies which are valuable in assessing the impact of PPV as an alternative to the conventional ILL supply of articles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to investigate the feasibility of using the rapidly developing print on-demand (POD) services to provide an alternative to interlibrary loan. Design/methodology/approach -- The current state of the print on-demand market is described and various developments considered including ILL. Findings -- It was found that POD is probably not the "new interlibrary loan" heralded two years ago but books printed on demand and associated services will play a key role in helping librarians address patron needs. Originality/value -- This is the only paper so far to evaluate POD services specifically in relation to interlibrary loan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to offer a comprehensive description and analysis of electronic reserve services in academic libraries in China. It also seeks to describe possible solutions for libraries to build multi-functional e-reserve services in order to face the challenge of the vast expansion in both academia and the economy in modern China. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper reviews the recent literature on the practices of e-reserve services, and analyses the results of the online surveys conducted in the 112 key university libraries in the China 211 Project, especially the top 15 university libraries. Findings -- The paper reveals that three-level (national, regional, and campus-wide) e-reserve resource systems have been developed jointly or individually by Chinese academic libraries. Their development, implementation and implications are discussed; existing problems and possible solutions are identified. Originality value -- The paper provides insights into the recent development of e-reserving services in Chinese academic libraries, offers useful information about e-reserving resources for students and faculty, and recommends solutions to libraries for e-reserve services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to describe inter-library access services in Hong Kong academic libraries and to discuss means of improving the services. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper takes the form of a narrative with suggestions for further development. Findings -- The introduction of the EasyRegister service has been a success. Originality/value -- The paper presents a detailed description of how the physical access of users can be facilitated between universities. This will be useful for all librarians concerned with this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this article is to introduce the KISTI document delivery service, to describe its collaboration with national and international institutions, and to explore the way KISTI develops and extends international cooperation. Design/methodology/approach -- The article describes the work of KISTI and draws on the transaction data of documents delivered by KISTI. Findings -- Resource sharing through national and international cooperation is becoming of increasing importance in Korea. KISTI operates its document delivery service at three levels: inNIDS, netNIDS, and globalNIDS. KISTI is the focal point in Korea for the delivery of domestic knowledge to other countries. Originality/value -- One of the few articles to deal in detail with the services provided by KISTI -- the Korean global document delivery service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the most recent literature concerning document supply and related matters. Design/methodology/approach -- This paper is based on the reading of over 150 journals as well as monographs, reports and web sites. Findings -- The paper finds that document supply (both returnables and non-returnables) continues to grow in the USA albeit more modestly than in the past; however globally decline continues although again more modestly. The tension caused by the Big Deals and Serial backfiles consuming more and more of reduced library budgets will increase as the cuts bite. Statistical analysis of serial usage continues with interesting results showing that 50 per cent of journals in many libraries only account for a few percentage points of demand Originality/value -- The paper is a useful source of information for librarians and others interested in document supply and related matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to focus on the formation of union catalogues and union lists in Iran and discuss the development of these tools in electronics and online environments. It also aims to identify the obstacles regarding their development. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper takes the form of a case study. Findings -- Despite the long history of the creation of union catalogues in Iran, this paper demonstrates that projects dealing with this subject either have totally ceased functioning or have been moving ahead at a snail's pace. Originality/value -- This paper is the first and the most comprehensive paper discussing the process of the formation and development of union catalogues in Iran and can be used by all researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe the interlibrary loan services of Library and Archives Canada. Design/methodology/approach - The paper describes the loans, copies and locations services of Library and Archives Canada, and patterns of demand for those services. It also describes the institution's role in the Canadian resource sharing environment. Findings - Library and Archives Canada offers access to a broad range of Canadian documents, and also provides services that support resource sharing in Canada. Demand for the institution's traditional ILL services is declining, and its focus is turning to digital access. Originality/value - The paper provides a picture of a national institution at a time of rapid change. It contains information that will be useful to those seeking documents from Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to describe the role of the National Library of Australia in the Australian interlibrary loan environment, not just in terms of providing access to National Library collections through the document supply service, but also in providing infrastructure to support interlibrary loans across Australia. Design/methodology/approach - The paper describes the various roles the National Library plays in the interlibrary loan/document delivery environment in Australia. It covers the document supply service and the Libraries Australia service, which provides the infrastructure that supports interlibrary loans/document delivery in Australia, and briefly reports on the evaluation of services currently being undertaken. Findings - Providing access to library collections is complex and constantly changing. Client expectations are increasing, and libraries need to change traditional practices to meet user needs. Originality/value - The paper covers the services offered by the National Library of Australia in supporting interlibrary loans/document delivery. Very few papers cover this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to describe major developments at Copac, including changes that facilitate use for interlibrary loan activity, introduce the Copac Collections Management project and look toward future developments in the context of the UK’s National Monograph Strategy. The Copac service gives access to the merged catalogues of 95 UK and Irish national, academic and specialist libraries, and is still growing. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a descriptive account. Findings – This paper identifies and describes some of the implications of the reengineering of Copac; addresses the role and benefits of the Copac Collections Management project; and looks ahead to forthcoming development areas. Originality/value – This paper is a valuable update on the service provided by Copac, as well an overview of the forthcoming Copac Collections Management tools service, and an introduction to future developments within the National Monograph Strategy context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to describe the history and current plans for the newspaper collections of the British Library. Design/methodology/approach - The Library will create more access to its older collections, via mass digitisation of texts. The Library is seeking to work with UK newspaper publishers to secure the ingest of "born digital" newspapers, to present issues of recent newspapers to users in library reading rooms. Digitised newspapers will be taken into the Library's digital library storage system being developed for all types of digital materials that the Library is acquiring in growing quantities. There are plans to move the existing collections from Colindale to a new storage facility at its Boston Spa site, to ensure controlled environmental conditions for the original printed newspapers. Findings - It was found that the British Library is investing in the future in order to improve access to a vital part of its collections. Originality/value - This is one of the few published articles on how a national library deals with the massive task of providing access to newspapers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to examine the reasons for the high costs of scholarly journals. Design/methodology/approach - A brief review of the literature on journal publishing costs is carried out. The paper focuses on the economics of scholarly English language journals published mainly in the USA and Europe, but which are sold worldwide, largely to academic and research libraries. Findings - Journal literature has long played a prominent role in the scholarly communication chain. In recent decades, however, the scholarly communication system has been facing a crisis due to the ever-escalating costs of journals. Two of the features of the journal publishing industry cited a decade ago and still valid today are a lack of competition and perverse incentives. "First-copy cost" is reported to be the main reason for high journal prices both in print and electronic publishing. Originality/value - The paper provides a useful overview to researchers and,document supply librarians, enabling them to achieve quickly a clear picture of journal publishing industry costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The amount of library material available online is staggering, but still at very early stages in terms of discovery tools. Without a centralized sour& to search digitized collections from these projects, it is important to understand their goals and distinctions between the services they provide. This paper aims to describe the complex landscape of mass digitization projects and their impact on interlending and document supply. Design/methodology/approach - The paper analyzes the history, goals and achievements of the mass digitization projects. It also looks at the sites that aggregate digitized materials from these projects and their interfaces for providing access. Findings - The number of library collections now digitized has reached numbers unimaginable even just a few years ago. The impact on interlending and document supply will likely be limited in the near term, since much of interlibrary borrowing is for materials published in the past decade, and much of the digitized content from this period is restricted in Google Book Search, the only mass digitization project to undertake digital conversion of copyrighted material. End users will be able to discover materials of interest in new ways, but are likely to need or want to see the print source for recent publications. Practical implications - Library staff members need to understand these projects and how they differ from one another in order to provide optimal service to their readers. Originality/value - The paper is a guide to negotiating the landscape of mass digitization, with an overview of the projects and their goals and accomplishments, with analysis of the impact on interlending and document supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to highlight some of the ways in which UK academic libraries are responding to the increasing space pressures in both their library buildings and their external stores. Design/methodology/approach - A survey of academic libraries looks at current practice, with examples taken from the University of Leeds and a number of other UK universities. Findings - The paper finds that relegation of stock has become a fact of life, and withdrawal is becoming more common. It is clear that the shortage of physical space cannot be solved by institutions in isolation, and that a collective strategy is essential in order to guarantee long-term sustainable storage of low-usage material. Originality/value - It is hoped that the examples discussed can help inform stock management decisions in other institutions that are starting to face storage problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe document delivery services between Texas A&M University Libraries (TAMUL) and Texas A&M University at Qatar Library (TAMUQL) from 2003 to 2008. Design/methodology/approach - The paper provides insights into the development of the new service provided by main campus libraries from College Station, Texas to the new branch library in Doha, Qatar. Findings - Document delivery is a popular, accurate, prompt, and well appreciated service for students, faculty, researchers, and staff to obtain needed curriculum and research materials unavailable at TAMUQL due to space limitations. Originality/value - This research provides useful and practical information for administrators and librarians planning to establish document delivery and interlibrary loan services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper it to outline current resource-sharing initiatives in Irish academic libraries that support increased research activity in line with national policy. This paper aims to point to the challenges and opportunities such initiatives present. Design/methodology/approach - The approach takes the form of a review paper based on practice. Findings - It has been suggested that the greatest obstacle to finding library research is that librarians do not publish their research. As financial constraints impact on all publicly funded organisations it is not unreasonable to suggest that decision making will become more dependent on research evidence than previously. Economies of scale cannot justify the development of a research body such as the Research Information Network (RIN) in the UK and, while its output is relevant to higher education in Ireland, it is important to remember that its findings must be adapted and scaled to the Irish environment, and that partnerships and collaboration may result in different dynamics from those in a larger polity. It is therefore important that Irish research is documented and published, so that it helps map the information landscape which supports the research agenda and the national interest. Originality/value - The paper presents a synthesis of current practice, outlining current shortcomings and challenges. It will be of interest to all librarians concerned to learn more about resource sharing in the British Isles and in particular in the Republic of Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to substantially update a presentation made at the 2007 IFLA Conference. It intends to describe the RESPOND project, a partnership between OCLC and the AMICAL consortium to enhance library resource discovery, and to report on initial outcomes. Design/methodology/approach - The paper describes the background for RESPOND, its key features and interesting challenges, and some of its expected direct and indirect benefits for the discovery and sharing of resources at AMICAL libraries. Preliminary statistics for group library holdings in WorldCat and OCLC ILL system use are examined. Findings - The time required for implementation and adoption of services was greater, and effective training more difficult to organize, than expected. Resource-sharing performance improvements still need to be measured, and many libraries are just starting to implement the project's services, but cooperation appears to be increasing between consortium members. The potential benefits for resource discovery and delivery remain great, and interest and participation in the project have spread to include nearly all AMICAL consortium members. Originality/value - AMICAL is an atypical consortium because of its geographically dispersed and highly international membership, but the challenges and results described here may be relevant to other efforts at international resource sharing and cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the rationale and the development of the Global Interlending & Verification Enquiry Service (GIVES), which is evolving at a major academic research library in the USA. Design/methodology/approach - Access problems and bibliographic challenges are described, as is the devising of various solutions in the development of the service. Based on an extremely rich collection of foreign language materials, and modeled after the highly successful Slavic Reference Service, this project works to provide materials in many languages to users through detailed and comprehensive searches conducted on an individual basis, drawing on a wide variety of bibliographic resources and catalogs in various formats. Findings - The challenges facing GIVES staff in assisting users with their ILL/DD requests are of three kinds: bibliographic, linguistic, and organizational. Thanks to conventions of bibliography and cataloging that cross all linguistic boundaries, and to the judicious use of GIVES' many bilingual dictionaries, and to GIVES' online Guide, but most of all to the rigorous bibliographic training received by GIVES staff, it is quite possible for a staff member to successfully handle a request with only the scantiest knowledge of the relevant language. The essential elements to the success of this project include expertise, cooperation and, of course) funding. Originality/value - Materials in less-commonly taught languages present challenges to many libraries in the USA. These challenges are increased when users attempt to access these materials through interlibrary loan and document delivery. The paper describes GIVES, an invaluable resource available at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to help libraries meet these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper is an analysis of user demographics in the Borrow Direct resource sharing service. The paper looks to determine who uses the service and to what extent. Design/methodology/approach – Five years of user data was culled from the system and analysed by user status and number of transactions. Findings – Borrow Direct is a core service for supporting graduate level research across the twelve partner institutions. Originality/value – This analysis indicates that resource sharing remains a vital resource, particularly for graduate level research, even at top-tier academic libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a new service providing Danish citizens access to articles from printed journals delivered in a digital form. Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes the interlibrary loan infrastructure between Danish libraries and the legal agreement between the copyright holders and the State and University Library. Findings – The service already covers 82 per cent of the Danish population. Originality/value – The digital article service is a rather unique service, especially regarding the delivery of articles from popular printed magazines in digital form to the patrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to provide a review of the most recent literature concerning document supply and related matters. Design/methodology/approach - This article is based on the reading of over 150 journals as well as monographs, reports and web sites. Findings - Electronic books remain a minority market but the literature at least remains optimistic and readers are improving in quality and acceptability. Open access continues to grow but with continuing and widely differing views on its impact. Recent mandating decisions will mean a step change in the both the creation and the growth of institutional and subject repositories, Increasing concerns are being expressed about the monopolistic implications of Google and there are some stout counter arguments. A number of interesting articles on document supply show it to be in robust health. Originality/value - The paper is a useful source of information for librarians and others interested in document supply and related matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to give a general overview of the Swedish LIBRIS system and its database, the search facilities of LIBRIS WebSearch and the ILL services for libraries and end users. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper describes the contents of the LIBRIS database and the different services of the four national library systems -- LIBRIS WebSearch, LIBRIS ILL, the Patron Request Routine, and the Library Directory. Findings -- During the development process of the new versions of LIBRIS WebSearch and LIBRIS ILL the specific needs of the end user have been the priority, with the aim to create simple, intuitive and easily available systems. Originality/value -- The paper presents the recent development of the two national LIBRIS systems -- LIBRIS WebSearch and LIBRIS ILL. The workflow of LIBRIS ILL for libraries and end users is described in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of scholarly electronic journals at the Indian Institute of Science. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper examines the methodology and results from a questionnaire-based survey of networked electronic services in India at the Indian Institute of Science (llSc) libraries, serving a variety of disciplines. A random sample of the main cohort was selected and, during five months from January 2004 until May 2004, 700 copies of the questionnaire were distributed among 40 departments of IISc; 397 completed and valid questionnaires (56.7 per cent) were received. Findings -- The results showed a growing interest in electronic journals among the users at liSt. Electronic journals were mostly used for research needs and PDF was the most preferred format. The fact that users have free access to electronic journals at all hours from their own computers seems to be the most appealing feature. Research limitations/implications -- There are many factors that may affect the use of scholarly electronic journals. An attempt is made in this study to see how these resources are being used in a multi-disciplinary institute in India. Limiting its focus to one institute, this paper provides useful empirical evidence for library staff and the research community. Practical implications- - The results of the study will be useful for library staff at IISc and similar institutes in India. Originality/value -- The paper provides original data from Indian end users regarding their use of scholarly electronic journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the development of bibliotek.dk (library.dk) – how to open a union catalogue to the public. Design/methodology/approach – bibliotek.dk – the end-user web interface to the public union catalogue is described and challenges in these features are examined: the user interface, end-user loan requests, cooperation with Google, library 2.0 characteristics etc. Usage statistics are presented. Findings – It was found that it is possible to make requesting library material (almost) as easy and fast as searching Google. Originality/value – The paper will be of interest to librarians working with opening their services to the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to offer a view to non-Italian librarians on Italian document supply (DS) developments and to submit to Italian DS librarians some points for discussion and some problems to solve. Design/methodology/approach – Italian DS is described from the perspective of a large university library's interactions with its users (faculty, undergraduate students and researchers) and its suppliers (Italian and European libraries together with non-library suppliers). Some characteristics of Italian library systems can be better understood by referring to the historical context; other characteristics reflect the difficulty of considering DS services as a strategic service integrated with other services. Findings – Italian DS services reveal two models of organisation and strategy, the networked and the independent. Four key factors are changing the target population, partners, policies and the role of DS in Italy: university reform, the increasing number of online full text journals available in universities, transdisciplinary research, and the internet. Originality/value – The article can be used by non-Italian librarians to obtain information about Italian libraries and their DS services. It gives some useful URLs and some guidance to finding documents via Italian OPACs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]