Document delivery and inter-library loans: supporting research in an island environment

Rachel Evans and Deborah Wright University of Tasmania Library

Abstract
The University of Tasmania is a multi-campus institution offering degrees and professional programs in all or most disciplines, and a wide range of research programs. It gives 'high priority to programs which reflect the distinctiveness of Tasmania, and which serve the needs of its community'

The role of the university library is to support these teaching, learning and research activities. It does this by providing information services and resources to support teaching, learning and research within the University community.

The challenges meeting the information needs of the university has become more complex and challenging in recent years, with a number of factors limiting the use made of the library's services and collections.

The strategic challenge for the library was to overcome these limiting factors and to provide more effective support for teaching and research. This shift adjusted the balance in resource provision between acquisition and access in favour of access to accelerate the migration from traditional reliance on print resources into a digital environment.

This came at a time when the university was placing greater emphasis on research and research training, and the University supported it by granting additional and targeted funding. The granting of specific funding allowed the library to provide an 'uncharged' Document Delivery Service. This made is necessary to redesign the Document Delivery Service.

The Document Delivery and Inter-Library Loans service faces constant change. The University Library has developed a Document Delivery Service, which has improved access to information for university staff and research students. The library's 'new' Document Delivery Service has been embraced by all university staff and research students, and is now seen as a key information source. This initiative is helping reduce the disadvantages of geographic isolation, and is removing the need for researchers to travel and use other academic libraries.

Introduction
All academic libraries are operating in a period of rapid change. Faced with rising demand from students and academic staff, libraries must seek to provide effective support for research, teaching ad learning activities.

The University of Tasmania is a multi-campus institution offering degrees and professional programs in all or most disciplines, and a wide range of research programs. It gives 'high priority to programs which reflect the distinctiveness of Tasmania, and which serve the needs of its community'.

Challenges
Meeting the information needs of the university has become more complex and challenging in recent years, with a number of reasons limiting the use made of the library's services and collections -

The traditional in-house print collections of the library have never been large enough to meet all our user needs, and have shrunk in size due to annual cancellations of serial subscriptions.
The library has had fewer funds to spend on its collections, with change in the way tertiary education is funded, increases in serial subscription prices, and a decrease in the value of the Australian dollar.
The multi-campus nature of the university, with academic programs often taught on more than one campus, has resulted in a demand for duplication and re-location of library resources.
Prior to 1999 the document delivery and Inter-Library Loan service was based on a cost-recovery method, this acted as a disincentive to use the service, with the ALIA recommended charges been passed back to the requestor or their respective Schools for each request submitted.

The library faced other external changes that further reduced its relevance to the university community -

The geographic isolation of the University of Tasmania has meant that researchers have no other library collections of significance within physical reach, and have had to travel interstate or overseas to use resources in other libraries.
Informal networks for obtaining resources have been strengthened by the development of e-mail, growth of e-mail lists, and by the development of free information on the Internet.
These factors have reduced the significance of the university library as a provider of information, to becoming only one of a number of ways of obtaining information that is available to academics and students.

Strategic plan
The university library aim was to overcome factors and to provide a more effective support for teaching and research. This change came at a time when the university was placing greater emphasis on research and research training, and the university supported this by granting additional and targeted funding.

The new strategy for the library was to

Migrate from print to electronic resources, were it is affordable and appropriate.
To move from a cost-recovery Document Delivery Service to an 'uncharged' service providing resources to fill the gap in the Library's' collection.

Redesigning the document delivery service
The granting of specific funding allowed the library to provide an 'uncharged' Document Delivery Service from 1 January 1999 onwards. This made it necessary to redesign the service in order to -

better address the information needs of users
Provide and sustain a service model, taking into account the expected increase in demand and the need to operate the new service without additional staffing
incorporate new technologies
streamline procedures to reduce manual handling

In redesigning the service the Library sought user input to the service model. Focus groups of academic staff and research students meet to discuss what their information needs were and the proposed Inter-Library Loan/Document Delivery model.

Clients indicated a need for an Inter-Library Loan/Document Delivery service which

Provided access to national and international resources
Provided access to published and unpublished materials
Met expressed deadlines
Was flexible, offering multiple requesting and delivery options according to user needs
Provided timely and ongoing feedback on the progress of their requests

Service model
The service model was introduced in January 1999. It focused on flexible procedures, interrelated technologies, and streamlined systems.

Access to the Document Delivery Service was restricted to university staff that includes research associates, staff from visiting universities, and staff from state government agencies who are working in conjunction with any University projects and research students.

'Free' document delivery was offered from January 1999 for all standard requests. The library absorbed the total cost of 'standard' requests, and also the standard component of Rush charges and only passed on the $12.00 'jumping the queue' fee to clients.

The service offered unlimited requesting, with no limit on the number, format, or geographic location of items requested by clients. This removed the need for researchers to prioritise their information needs and to limit their research due to costs.

New document delivery technologies were introduced to replace and operate with traditional, paper based Inter-Library Loan practices. The new service model consisted of

Web requesting, available from the library's web pages and operating in tandem with the Inter-Library Loan request management system and the university' e-mail network
Use of the locally-designed management system 'eDelivery' to manage requests, supplier files, client files and copyright compliance
Use of e-mail to automatically confirm receipt of requests, provide progress reports, order from suppliers, and notify clients of delivery
Use of the delivery software Ariel to receive documents from suppliers, and to forward these to clients as e-mail attachments

Commercial suppliers were selected as an alternate interlending partner. After a trial of 3 commercial suppliers during late 1998, the commercial supplier Infotrieve was selected to supply the majority of documents to the library.

Infotrieve offered the best quality documents, prompt delivery and comparable service costs to Australian suppliers. The facility to order via bulk e-mail without the need for verification or location checking by Document Delivery staff made the service quick and efficient.

The new service model offered a 'free', flexible and electronic document delivery and interlibrary loan service.

Impact
The new service model has been in operation for 3 years. Its impact on document delivery staff was minimal with staff accepting the new technologies and procedures implemented, and been prepared for an increase in the number of requests from clients.

Usage
The 'new' Document Delivery Service gained immediate acceptance from clients. The take up for the 'uncharged' service was almost immediate and has now levelled out throughout the last year.

Use of the service, compared to previous years when it was offered on a cost-recovery basis, has indicated a huge increase in demand. From 4 636 requests in 1998 to 29 850 requests received for the year of 2000.

These figures represent

In 1999 an increase of 391% from 1998
In 2000 an increase of 543% from 1998

Client feedback
The library conducted an e-mail survey of registered document delivery clients in order to obtain feedback on the new service model in September 1999. The survey covered the following areas

Speed of delivery of requested items
Ease of use of the web forms
Whether Fast Track items were received within required time-frame
Quality of staff assistance

The survey results showed that we were heading in the right direction, and also provided some useful insights into areas were the service needed refinement.

Sustainability
Document Delivery and interlibrary loan services face constant change. The University of Tasmania has developed and implemented a Document Delivery Service, which has improved access to information for university staff and research students.

The library has created an expectation among its clients of free Inter-Library Loans/Document Delivery requests, but in the next couple of years the library must examine whether it is feasible, or even desirable, to sustain an uncharged and unlimited service, as the demand continues to increase.

Resourcing will be the key element to sustaining an uncharged and unlimited service. Targeted funding is essential if the service is to continue beyond the 2001 budget allocation. Adequate staffing is also essential if the library is to sustain and improve the current uncharged unlimited Inter-Library Loans/Document Delivery Service.

Conclusion
The University Library's Document Delivery Service has been embraced by all university staff and research students and is now seen as a key information source. This initiative of offering an 'uncharged' service is helping reduce the disadvantages of geographic isolation, and its removing the need for researchers to travel to and use other academic libraries.

In the future if this service model is to continue there will be a need for further review and redesign if it is to remain relevant and effective in supporting the information needs of the University community.

Author
Rachel Evans commenced work at University of Tasmania Library in March 1990 in the circulation section until mid 1996. From circulation I took up a position as an acquisitions assistant until 1998. In 1998 I applied for my current position as a document delivery assistant. I have been working in document delivery section for the last 3 years. During my 10 years working at the university library I have gained a great deal of knowledge and experience in all aspects of the library environment. Also over the last 5 years I have been working toward completing the Diploma of Library and Information studies on a part-time basis.

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