Silvana Mangiaracina, Cristina Cocever, Marco Chiandoni and Stefania Arabito
The purpose of this paper is to report on the surveys, carried out during 2011 and 2013, regarding the functionality of and possible improvements to Italy’s nationwide resource…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on the surveys, carried out during 2011 and 2013, regarding the functionality of and possible improvements to Italy’s nationwide resource sharing service NILDE (Network for Inter-Library Document Exchange).
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology comprises both an analysis of quantitative data about ILL transactions initiated during a 2011 study and a qualitative assessment of the system based on information obtained from the surveys and a SWOT analysis. This proved to be an effective methodology, and a new survey was launched in 2013 to verify whether the choices made and the projects undertaken were in line with user expectations.
Findings
The results turned out to be particularly interesting and a source of hints for planning future improvements.
Originality/value
Italian studies for assessing user satisfaction of library services, based on user surveys, often relate to a single library or a single University. The NILDE survey was delivered nationwide to all the registered users of NILDE. This is the most extensive survey for the number of libraries and the various types of end users involved.
Details
Keywords
Silvana Mangiaracina and Alessandro Tugnoli
The purpose of this paper is to present new concepts and features introduced in NILDE 4.0, an online ILL and document supply request system designed for and used by more than 700…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present new concepts and features introduced in NILDE 4.0, an online ILL and document supply request system designed for and used by more than 700 Italian libraries and research institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a case study approach based on their professional experience at the NILDE Administrator library, the CNR Research Area Library of Bologna.
Findings
New concepts and features include, among others, a multilingual user interface, a Z39.50 link to national catalogues and union catalogues, a ranking algorithm to assist libraries in balancing their ILL borrowing and lending volumes with partner libraries, a single sign-on user authentication and authorisation system, and a bibliographic citation management system. Future development plans include the ability to create library groups; although this functionality is already built into the new system architecture, it has not yet been implemented by the community.
Originality/value
The authors have published previously on earlier versions of the NILDE software; this paper presents an overview of the recently released version 4.0.