Mass digitization and its impact on interlending and document supply

Abstract

Purpose

The amount of library material available online is staggering, but still at very early stages in terms of discovery tools. Without a centralized source to search digitized collections from these projects, it is important to understand their goals and distinctions between the services they provide. This paper aims to describe the complex landscape of mass digitization projects and their impact on interlending and document supply.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper analyzes the history, goals and achievements of the mass digitization projects. It also looks at the sites that aggregate digitized materials from these projects and their interfaces for providing access.

Findings

The number of library collections now digitized has reached numbers unimaginable even just a few years ago. The impact on interlending and document supply will likely be limited in the near term, since much of interlibrary borrowing is for materials published in the past decade, and much of the digitized content from this period is restricted in Google Book Search, the only mass digitization project to undertake digital conversion of copyrighted material. End users will be able to discover materials of interest in new ways, but are likely to need or want to see the print source for recent publications.

Practical implications

Library staff members need to understand these projects and how they differ from one another in order to provide optimal service to their readers.

Originality/value

The paper is a guide to negotiating the landscape of mass digitization, with an overview of the projects and their goals and accomplishments, with analysis of the impact on interlending and document supply.

Citation

Willett, P. (2009), "Mass digitization and its impact on interlending and document supply", Interlending & Document Supply, Vol. 37 No. 3, pp. 143-148. https://doi.org/10.1108/02641610910985620