Interlibrary loan and document supply in France – the Montpellier meeting

Abstract

Purpose

Two French professional associations (ADBU and AURA) organised the first nation‐wide meeting on interlibrary loan and document supply in France. This paper aims to provide a synthesis of some major communications and debate.

Design/methodology/approach

The article is based on the first nationwide meeting on interlibrary loan and document supply in France.

Findings

The first session led to a debate that was rich and controversial and covered several aspects, from the relationship between acquisition and supply policy, the role of the national catalogue SUDOC, the impact of staff reductions on service quality, the limits of resource rationalization, supply of electronic copies and the cooperation with the COUPERIN consortium. For more than one reason, the Montpellier conference was a historic meeting. Some aspects that were a little bit “underexposed” during this first meeting will certainly gain more importance in the future, as, for example, the electronic delivery and related legal aspects (copyright, intellectual property), the international library service networking and the closer cooperation between some major French suppliers.

Originality/value

This article is a useful source of information for librarians and others interested in document supply in France

Citation

Schöpfel, J. (2005), "Interlibrary loan and document supply in France – the Montpellier meeting", Interlending & Document Supply, Vol. 33 No. 1, pp. 56-58. https://doi.org/10.1108/02641610510582180