Document delivering services: a strategy to support research in Mexican universities in the pandemic by COVID-19

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report and to regulate the users’ documentary necessities of six Mexican universities involved, in a cooperative manner and during the period of confinement by SARS-CoV-2, through the Document Delivery Service (DDS). Design/methodology/approach A diagnostic was conducted within the participating institutions that considered the information resources and sources, documents requested and the number of users per institution, which were counted daily for one month. This research used documentary and quantitative methods. Findings The authors determined that DDS is a reliable service for information supply although it is going to be necessary to adjust legal schemes and interlibrary loan policies to develop a process and to adapt this one to the current information services in the future or “in our new normality”; DDS will have a high impact on the conformation of networks of librarian cooperation. Originality/value This study exposed the importance of DDS as a relevant service to provide information on demand by using information and communication technologies, which is a safe way to operate, avoiding exposure to physical contact, ensuring the continuity of research processes in the communities and always monitoring and promoting the copyright.

“Just-in-Time” Unmediated Document Delivery Service Provides Fast Delivery, Helps Identify Collection Gaps, but Incurs Extra Costs

A Review of: Chan, E. K., Mune, C., Wang, Y., & Kendall, S. L. (2016). Three years of unmediated document delivery: An analysis and consideration of collection development priorities. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 35(1), 42-51. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2016.1117288 Abstract Objective – Examine the collection development opportunities and challenges of an unmediated document delivery service. Design – Case study. Setting – Large comprehensive public university in the United States of America. Subjects – 11,981 document delivery requests. Methods – This library implemented Copyright Clearance Center’s Get It Now (CCC-GiN) service in November 2011 to supplement existing holdings, provide access to embargoed content and help support two new programs. The CCC-GiN service was offered in addition to regular ILL service. Statistical analysis was done using usage data collected for the academic years 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and 2014-2015 (excluding June and July). Usage data included: order date and time, fulfillment date and time, publication name, publication date, article name, article author, publisher name, cost, delivery e-mail address. Taylor and Francis publications were added to the CCC-GiN service in November of 2014. Main Results – The average yearly cost of titles with the largest number of CCC-GiN requests was compared to the annual subscription cost of the same titles. If the annual subscription cost was less than the average yearly cost of CCC-GiN requests, the library purchased a subscription. Patrons ordered older journal content through CCC-GiN requests. This suggested that backfile subscriptions could be cost effective means of providing content. The authors are in the process of analyzing what historical journal content should be purchased. The addition of Taylor and Francis publications resulted in an increase in the average cost per article. Taylor and Francis publications were popular with patrons, helping boost the total number of requests. The date of the Taylor and Francis materials ordered through CCC-GiN tended to be more recent compared to other publishers. The authors suggest CCC-GiN is a possible solution for acquiring embargoed material. Average fulfillment time increased during the three year time period from 1:34 (hr:min) to 3:52. The percentage of requests outside of ILL working hours was consistent across all three years (62% each academic year). The authors note CCC-GiN service provided the most expedient way for patrons to receive requested material. A number of the most requested CCC-GiN publications were also available in print format. The quality of print serials data was uncertain hence the decision was made to not upload this data to the CCC-GiN service. This resulted in some overlap in requests with the library’s print holdings. Older content was requested through CCC-GiN rather than through traditional ILL. This resulted in increased costs from copyright fees that would have been avoided using traditional ILL services. Conclusion – The authors reference the impact of e-commerce on library patron expectations about ease of access and just-in-time delivery. They found that the CCC-GiN service meets these expectations as patrons were able to access a broad selection of materials in a timely and easy to use manner. From the analysis come suggestions to help reduce costs associated with the service. They include adjusting system settings to cap spending limits, limiting who can use the service, selecting only titles that cover a gap in the collection, and including quality print serials holdings data to prevent purchase of already owned material. The authors also discuss using a mediated rather than unmediated service to help lower costs but they note this would slow down turnaround time. The authors close by saying each library will have to consider its own needs and those of its patrons with respect to ease of use, delivery time, and cost.

Interlending and document delivery in India through INFLIBNET and the UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the J-Gate Plus Discovery and Resource Sharing Model, and to examine the interlending and document delivery service within the Indian university system and the UGC-Infonet Digital Library Consortium. Design/methodology/approach This paper describes the functionalities of J-Gate Plus services and discusses how it become a successful product in the Indian academic sector. Finally, the paper analyses the search trends and document delivery request reports. Findings Information and Library Network, Inter-library loan Centres (universities) and J-Gate@UGC-Infonet are cooperating to facilitate resource sharing in India and to gradually expand their roles to other academic library systems. Originality/value The paper is an up-to-date study of resource sharing in the Indian university system through the J-Gate@UGC-Infonet service.

A document delivery service for foreign scholarly journals: the experiences of South Korea

Purpose This study aims to describe the current status and usage trends of a new document delivery service (DDS) for foreign scholarly journals in Korea. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 2010 to 2016 for the number of foreign journal subscriptions held by Foreign Research Information Centers (FRICs), number of FRIC DDS requests, the amount of government funds spent on the subscriptions, etc. Findings There has been an increase in the number of foreign journal subscriptions and DDS transactions by FRICs, especially in the fields of science, technology and medicine. Originality/value The DDS project in this study offers a useful example of collaboration between the government and academic libraries to provide research communities with foreign scholarly journals.

FIZ AutoDoc – the customer-oriented document delivery service

Purpose – To describe both the service and recent developments of FIZ AutoDoc. Design/methodology/approach – An in depth description with particular emphasis on copyright issues. Findings – That FIZ AutoDoc has developed to respond to the information needs of its customers primarily in the commercial sector internationally. Originality/value – A full description of a valuable service that draws upon the resources of many partners to provide commercial organizations with the information that they need.

Document delivery demand and service review at the University of Kent

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the document delivery demand at the University of Kent and describes the recent changes to the document delivery service and their impact. Design/methodology/approach – Statistical data from 2007 to 2015 and user feedback have been examined. Findings – There is a combination of reasons behind the high level of demand for interlibrary loan (ILL) material at the University of Kent, most notably the specific needs of users and library policy regarding document delivery. Originality/value – A study of one of the very few UK universities to experience an increase in ILL in the past few years.