The Medical Library and Media Center of Keio University in Tokyo: report on a visit.
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The Medical Library and Media Center at Keio University in Tokyo offers many facilities to its users: access to medical information within a large catalog of monographs and journals, online searching and CD-ROM databases, and a dynamic interlibrary loan service. This article is a report of a professional visit to the library on September 30, 1993. (+info)
Interlibrary loan in U.S. health sciences libraries: journal article use.
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Health sciences libraries in the United States use the National Library of Medicine (NLM) DOCLINE system to request more than two million items annually through interlibrary loan (ILL). Ninety-seven percent of all ILL requests are for journal articles. In this study, NLM analyzed four million ILL requests entered into the DOCLINE system during two twelve-month periods ending September 30, 1992. The requests were analyzed at both the journal title level and article level. Data for the two years were found to be remarkably similar. Results showed that a large number of journals are required to fill ILL requests and that there is a relatively low number of repeat requests for most journal articles. Seventy-six percent of journal articles analyzed were requested only once, and fewer than 1% were requested more than ten times. About 39% of journals used to fill ILL requests were indexed in MEDLINE at some time, while 84% of the articles supplied were indexed in MEDLINE. Ninety-two percent of articles supplied were from English-language journals. Sixty-seven percent of articles were published in the most recent five years, and 85% in the most recent ten years. The 100 most frequently requested articles for each of the two years were examined to determine characteristics such as language, where they were indexed, and the subject matter. This study has provided valuable information for planning of NLM's interlibrary document delivery services and also should have significance for libraries and other organizations involved in document delivery. (+info)
Trends in the use of DOCLINE and the OCLC ILL subsystem 1986-1992.
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An examination of interlibrary loan statistics from 1986 through 1992 at the Health Sciences Library (HSL), State University of New York at Buffalo, revealed that the numbers of requests received via DOCLINE increased steadily over this period. Meanwhile, the numbers of requests received via OCLC rose from 1986 to 1989 but then declined steadily from 1989 to 1992. To understand and interpret these trends, a survey of various libraries that obtain material from HSL was conducted to collect data on their use of DOCLINE and OCLC. Analysis of the data confirmed that the use of DOCLINE was on the increase, especially in health sciences libraries, and that in some of these libraries requests for documents via OCLC were on the decline. The ratio of requests via DOCLINE versus OCLC ranged from 2:1 to 5:1. In the non-health sciences libraries that request from HSL, use of DOCLINE is minimal compared to that of OCLC. (+info)
Electronic document delivery using the Internet.
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The Health Sciences Libraries Consortium (HSLC) was established in 1985 by thirteen founding member institutions in Pennsylvania and Delaware. In 1989, the Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery, and Union List Task Force, appointed by the HSLC Board of Directors, successfully demonstrated the feasibility of supplying 94% of all interlibrary loan (ILL) photocopy requests in forty-eight hours or less by a network application of group 3-level memory telefacsimiles. However, the expenses associated with the telefacsimile operation and the limitations associated with network polling protocols challenged participants to seek new alternatives for ILL. In 1990, the HSLC introduced HSLC HealthNET, an online wide-area network linking eleven of the thirteen institutions and their resources while providing access to the Internet. The HSLC HealthNET additionally supports a centralized shared library system, several locally mounted databases, and consortiumwide electronic mail. In 1991, a project was initiated to evaluate Ariel software, pioneered by the Research Libraries Group (RLG), compared to the existing network application of group 3-level telefacsimiles. Factors identified as critical to Ariel's potential to replace the telefacsimile network were the proprietary software specifications for Internet access, the use of HSLC's existing wide-area network (WAN), and a hardware platform that was optimal for an ILL environment. This article describes the Ariel project history, the transition to Ariel from the telefacsimile network, evaluation of equipment features for processing efficiency, and operational issues affecting ILL policy. (+info)
Faxon Finder/Faxon Xpress: report from a beta test site.
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In this environment of expanding information needs, spiraling journal costs, and curtailed financial resources, medical libraries must take advantage of the rapid evolution in document delivery services. There are exciting developments in transmission technology, from fax machines to scanners to the Internet. There is also a notable shift away from the traditional reliance on library networks toward use of commercial vendors as document providers. These changes require reevaluation of interlibrary loan (ILL) and document delivery systems on many levels, including pricing structures, work flow, and impact on collection development. As commercial vendors develop increasingly effective products, librarians can test, evaluate, and incorporate them into their ILL operations to enhance service to users and relieve the pressure to acquire new resources; in this way, librarians can move from the "just in case" practice of building an on-site collection to the "just in time" model of providing timely delivery of materials to users as needed. This paper describes a beta test of the Faxon Finder/Faxon Xpress table of contents and document delivery services conducted by the Treadwell Library of the Massachusetts General Hospital. (+info)
SAIL: automating interlibrary loan.
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The National Library of Medicine (NLM) initiated the System for Automated Interlibrary Loan (SAIL) pilot project to study the feasibility of using imaging technology linked to the DOCLINE system to deliver copies of journal articles. During the project, NLM converted a small number of print journal issues to electronic form, linking the captured articles to the MEDLINE citation unique identifier. DOCLINE requests for these journals that could not be filled by network libraries were routed to SAIL. Nearly 23,000 articles from sixty-four journals recently selected for indexing in Index Medicus were scanned to convert them to electronic images. During fiscal year 1992, 4,586 scanned articles were used to fill 10,444 interlibrary loan (ILL) requests, and more than half of these were used only once. Eighty percent of all the articles were not requested at all. The total cost per article delivered was $10.76, substantially more than it costs to process a photocopy request. Because conversion costs were the major component of the total SAIL cost, and most of the articles captured for the project were not requested, this model was not cost-effective. Data on SAIL journal article use was compared with all ILL requests filled by NLM for the same period. Eighty-eight percent of all articles requested from NLM were requested only once. The results of the SAIL project demonstrated that converting journal articles to electronic images and storing them in anticipation of repeated requests would not meet NLM's objective to improve interlibrary loan. (+info)
A look at LOANSOME DOC service.
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The Pacific Southwest Regional Medical Library (PSRML) launched a project in 1988 to assess the feasibility of electronic linkages between health professionals using GRATEFUL MED--the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) software program for searching the MEDLARS databases--and libraries using DOCLINE, NLM's automated interlibrary loan request-and-referral system. This paper describes the origins of LOANSOME DOC and initial usage experiences. Results of the LOANSOME DOC beta test, including usage statistics, are reported. The paper also describes the mechanics of nationwide implementation of LOANSOME DOC, including guidelines used by the Regional Medical Libraries (RMLs) to refer unaffiliated health professionals to DOCLINE libraries for LOANSOME DOC service. National usage statistics for the first full year of implementation (October 1, 1991, to September 30, 1992) are provided, and user satisfaction surveys conducted in 1993 by two RMLs are examined. Future enhancements to LOANSOME DOC are suggested. (+info)
Legal considerations for document delivery services.
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Health sciences libraries that provide fee-based information services must consider and develop policies and procedures for complying with legal requirements. This paper reviews the provisions of copyright law that pertain to document delivery, including two court decisions concerning copyright. Also discussed are recent actions by publishers to reinforce their view of libraries' responsibilities for royalty fees for articles copied and their use of licenses to impose additional restrictions on the use of and reproduction of materials. (+info)