Library-Subsidized Unmediated Document Delivery

Abstract

T hroughout the 1990s, libraries experimented with allowing their users to order articles directly from commercial document suppliers and subsidizing the resulting costs. Permitting the user autonomy in obtaining articles can potentially affect three major areas of library operations: collections, services, and staffing. To a large extent, timely access to nonsubscribed journals expands the collection and does so faster than interlibrary loan. In an era of highly inflationary serials, another benefit of unmediated document delivery is that it can soften the blow of journal cancellations by streamlining the process for obtaining articles. The need for specialized information can be met rapidly and economically through document delivery rather than subscribing to journals desired by a limited population. From a service aspect, unmediated document delivery provides for speedier access to information than traditional interlibrary loan because it eliminates the "middleman" and thus decreases processing and delivery time. Ordering articles for themselves offers a convenience to those users who prefer to take charge of their own document delivery needs or are under severe time constraints. Unmediated document delivery appears to offer a means to reduce interlibrary loan operational expenses, salaries, and staff workloads by transferring the ordering and receiving processes to the requestor.The constant changes in services and delivery methods that are provided by document suppliers call for a re-evaluation of methods and effectiveness of unmediated document delivery. In this article, we identify reasons for trying unmediated document delivery, evaluate its success or failure in meeting expectations, and present considerations for deciding when using unmediated document delivery is advantageous. ProceduresWe will describe a recent unmediated document delivery project at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), from the planning of a pilot project to the implementation of a new service. Information gathered regarding usage and

Pay-per-view article access: a viable replacement for subscriptions?

“…In part this was a response to the problem of rising serial prices 8 and the resulting tension between the need to cancel journal subscriptions while still providing access to needed items 9 ; as Haslam and Stowers point out, "In an era of highly inflationary serials, [a] benefit of unmediated document delivery is that it can soften the blow of journal cancellations by streamlining the process of obtaining articles." 10 Another major consideration was the need to meet user expectations heightened by experience with improved technology and services that provided them with options for document delivery other than visiting the library 11 , while a third consideration was the cost of staffing for traditional ILL 12 .…”

Journal Finder: A Solution for Comprehensive and Unmediated Access to Journal Articles

“…As the number and scholarly relevance of journals continue unabated, libraries are now adding mediated and unmediated document delivery services, electronic subscriptions, and pay-per-view options in attempts to expand their base of journal offerings while controlling costs. 3 Again, all of this historic activity has provided the academic community with better access to the journal articles that drive its research and learning processes.…”