Search results

Advances the idea that interlibrary lending is the Cinderella of the library service. Shows that it is support staff that frequently perform the tasks associated with interlibrary loan. Argues that a professional librarian should guide this service. Explores the varied roles of the professional interlibrary loan librarian within the context of the US library scene, showing that interlibrary loan service, properly carried out, is both a challenge and stimulus to the professional librarian and an important factor in the satisfaction of user needs.

The OCLC Interlibrary Loan Subsystem became available for use 1 April 1979. The advantages and disadvantages of the ILL Subsystem are examined, as well as the composition and use of the OCLC on‐line union catalogue. Library staffing has had to change because of the way some tasks are now accomplished. Library patrons expect and receive better service. OCLC is conspicuously successful in helping libraries to cope with ever‐increasing numbers of interlibrary loan requests.

This review begins by looking at interlending statistics from research libraries in New Zealand and the USA, which show a general increase in interlending activity, but with far more lending than borrowing being carried out. International interlending statistics for 1982 are briefly analysed and a paper describing the use of interlending statistics to detemine monographic acquisitions policy is discussed. Two major reports on interlending and document delivery in Quebec and the USA reveal inadequacies in these services, mainly in supply times, and their authors put forward suggestions for improvement in the future. The views of a US author on the future of document delivery are discussed along with an electronic messaging survey in the USA, the DOCDEL project in Europe and the present and future prospects for interlending in the USSR. News of new interlibrary loan subsystems in the major US on‐line bibliographic networks is given. Finally a new interlibrary loan handbook from the USA is reviewed.

A review of the 3rd International Conference on Interlending and Document Supply at the National Library of Hungary in Budapest from 29 March to 1 April, 1993, and of the concurrent UNESCO workshop on East‐West information transfer. Developments in networking will move interlending and document supply from their present peripheral position in library services to centre stage, although the charges are part of a long‐established and continuing process, rather than a dramatic departure from past practice. Outlines the reasons why electronic information will continue to become more competitive than traditionally published sources and discusses some of the consequences of change. In the process of change Eastern Europe is well placed to benefit from Western development and, already, shows signs of making more substantial progress. Makes suggestions for individual and institutional actions.

Investigates the information highway and all of its various components, and wonders how the Internet will affect the way in which people live. Shows that there are many problems to be resolved before open use can be granted, regarding unscrupulous users and misuse. Concludes that the field is growing at such a rate that the many legal questions spawned need to be addressed, in particular by participants.

The review begins with a look at the interlending of audiovisual materials. The main obstacles in this area are fear of damage in transit and packaging problems, costs of transportation, copyright and contractual restrictions, the lending/reference conflict, and problems of incompatibility of technical equipment. The general problems are discussed and also the situation in the United Kingdom and Australia. The interlending of music is examined with a critical look at an ambitious scheme for combining ILL and publication on demand by using telefacsimile. A continued growth in the volume of interlending traffic is detected by analysing figures from Canada, the USA, the German Democratic Republic, and the UK. The administration of ILL systems is critical for their efficiency and the questions of staffing and finance are examined. The nature of ILL work has changed so as to require more qualified staff and it is necessary to look at all the components of interlending work to estimate what elements, if any, should be charged to the system itself and what are overheads for general library use. Finally the value of grandiose networking schemes in Third World countries is questioned in the light of experiences from the Arab World, India, and Brazil.

Supplements the (A) case.

“Human service is a fundamental concept in librarianship, and the essential role of reference librarians is to connect people with the information they want,” wrote Jennifer Mendelsohn in 1994. To further this connection, librarians have suggested looking for, and have often actively sought out, patrons before they approach the reference or information desk, yet our image of the roving reference encounter remains sketchy. This picture ranges from that of a harried, overworked professional dispensing inadequate service to a multitude of users, to a librarian effectively extending a hand to the three‐fifths to two‐thirds of all users who would not otherwise request assistance. The picture one sees depends on one's individual work preference. Such conflicting mental pictures lead to round after round of endless debate.

Welcome to The Column concerning interlibrary services in the OCLC universe! Dare if you will to join me in my continuing mission to infuse new life, explore strange new visions, and boldly go where no humor has gone before. In this episode we investigate new desires, tips, space visions, and titillating trends….