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1 – 8 of 8The purpose of this study is to describe how the British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) is responding to changes in the provision of research content, redefining its…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to describe how the British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) is responding to changes in the provision of research content, redefining its services to suit varying audiences’ requirements and building on a flexible technology platform.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is descriptive in nature.
Findings
The British Library is responding well to the current competitive environment for Inter Library Loan (ILL) and document supply.
Originality/value
This study includes an up-to-date assessment of the BLDSS and the changes, driven by the changing landscape, that are taking place.
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Narender Kumar and Lalita
The aim of this paper is to know the cost of per use, to analyze the cost per use in different subjects, to analyze the most economical as well as expensive electronic database…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to know the cost of per use, to analyze the cost per use in different subjects, to analyze the most economical as well as expensive electronic database being subscribed by the University of Delhi, to identify the database(s) for cancellation and to highlight issues related to usage statistics.
Design/methodology/approach
Usage statistics have been collected from the publishers for the period under study of full-text databases in the counting online usage of networked electronic resource (COUNTER) JR1 excluding downloads from an archive and Indian databases not providing COUNTER compliance usage. Usages of foreign databases have been analyzed through different parameters like yearly average cost per down load, subject-wise average cost per down, most economical databases and most expensive databases have been identified. A total approximation cost has also been worked by adopting standards practice to know the saving of University of Delhi by subscribing these databases.
Findings
The study concludes that in case of foreign databases, the cost per use has increased by 41.77 per cent in the past 10 years and the cumulative average cost per use has been Rs.55.07 less than $1 if converted into US$. In case of subject, the cheapest cost per use has been from the databases providing statistical data (Rs.26.50) and the costliest cost per use has been from discipline social science (99–196.61), followed by management (Rs.37.33), general databases (Rs.40.58), science (Rs.41.66), humanities (Rs.48.73), technology (Rs.93.22) and computer science (Rs.102.09) per use. It has also been found that the Britannica Online has been the most economical database costing Rs.2.33 and World Intellectual Property Search as most expensive costing Rs.14,902.19 per use. The study concludes that University of Delhi have saved substantial amount by subscribing these databases instead of purchasing these article from open market. The study concluded that though the usage statistics is an important parameter for renewal or cancellation, it should not be the only criteria.
Research limitations/implications
This study could not able to work out the cost per use of Indian databases, as they were not able to provide COUNTER statistics.
Practical implications
On the basis of the study, University of Delhi and institute may decide on renewal of these databases. The institute may take necessary action to promote these databases through information literacy program. On the basis of the study, University of Delhi and institute may decide on renewal of these databases. The institute may take necessary action to promote these databases through information literacy program.
Originality/value
This study is an empirical research based on original usage statistics provided by the publishers in COUNTER format. Earlier literature has also been studied and used. Proper citation and reference have been acknowledged. The study has been checked through plagiarism detecting software.
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– 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.
Abstract
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.
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Leah Halliday and Charles Oppenheim
Economic aspects of a national electronic reserve service (NERS) were explored using Ithink Analyst, a modelling software package. A model was developed and simulations were used…
Abstract
Economic aspects of a national electronic reserve service (NERS) were explored using Ithink Analyst, a modelling software package. A model was developed and simulations were used to monitor the effect of variations in the values of key model elements. The model was based on developments within the UK HE community and primarily on Higher Education ON demand (HERON), a national service which is part‐funded by the UK HE funding councils. The two principal activities of HERON are rights clearance and digitisation but the service is also building a repository of digitised texts which are stored for future use to avoid duplication of effort. Model elements were manipulated to compare the cost per student of providing reserve materials using this service with the cost per student of a traditional print service. The level of overlap in materials required by different universities using the service was varied as was the copyright fee paid to rights holders for use of their texts. The results suggest that this service is extremely expensive for a library when compared with an equivalent print service. Furthermore, if the service operated within the library budget for reserve materials, the income generated for publishers would be a fraction of that generated from selling print copies to libraries at the current rate. The authors conclude that as a whole this service is inefficient. Specific elements of the service, e.g. the copyright clearance function, may be efficient in a different context.
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This paper aims to review the current Library and Information Science (LIS) literature for document supply, resource sharing and other issues such as open access that have an…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the current Library and Information Science (LIS) literature for document supply, resource sharing and other issues such as open access that have an impact on the service.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach is based on the scanning of about 150 journals, reports, websites and blogs.
Findings
Open access continues to grow and, hence, the impact of document supply. There is a particularly useful progress report on open access in the UK which is widely relevant.
Originality/value
This paper is the only regular review of LIS literature in this subject area.
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This chapter aims to describe the development of the interlending and document supply (DS) service over the past 30 years and to show that this service still has much to offer.
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter aims to describe the development of the interlending and document supply (DS) service over the past 30 years and to show that this service still has much to offer.
Methodology/approach
After a historical introduction, the current environment for researchers is assessed and analysed in the current context of the rapidly changing access to information.
Findings
The interlending and DS service has declined in the last 10 years owing to the dual impact of the ‘Big Deals’ and the growth in open access. However the service retains its value for providing access to the vast amounts of material that is still not freely available or is hidden behind expensive pay walls.
Originality/value
This is the only study that analyses the current global situation regarding the interlending and DS service.
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The paper aims to set out challenges that libraries face while developing their Digital Library capabilities and capacity and propose an approach to estimating the costs for these…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to set out challenges that libraries face while developing their Digital Library capabilities and capacity and propose an approach to estimating the costs for these functions. There is a skills challenge as well as an organisational challenge. The opportunities to build new teams or re-train existing staff are discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach builds on a 2008 paper about Digital Library economics and discusses the changes in the environment since then. A model is described in which a library takes on the full responsibility for building and operating a Digital Library function in-house. This is used to benchmark other options such as managed services, outsourced infrastructure and “cloud” services.
Findings
The Open Access Publication and Research Data Management mandates present challenges to all libraries based in academic institutions in the UK. New working methods and new costs are unavoidable. There are a number of ways to deal with this depending upon the institutional circumstance. The bottom line can be increases in revenue budgets of around 10 per cent with variable requirements for capital investment.
Originality/value
Libraries and librarians have different experiences in closely working with colleagues in information technology (IT). A number of propositions are presented about the value of cooperation and collaboration between library and IT and also with external partners and service providers.
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