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Unit 6: Document Delivery Services and Online Services

(b) By obtaining documents form other libraries on inter-library loan; Notes
(c) By joining library consortia for subscription to journals and databases (particularly full-
text databases) and sharing the resources;

(d) By procuring copies of documents from other libraries, documentation centres and
commercial document supply agencies like publishers, etc. and
(e) By accessing and downloading web-based documents.

These modes are discussed below:
(a) Document Delivery from Library Collection: This involves providing a document requested
by the user by picking it up from the library itself, if it is available. This is usually the
easiest or quickest way of document delivery. But, at times, it is not fast enough if the
document is already issued to another user.
(b) Document Delivery through ILL: In this method, the library contacts another library,
which has the required document and obtains it through inter-library loan and delivers to
the user who is a bonafide member of the borrowing library. In this process the user
usually gets the original document but this borrowing would be strictly as per the terms
and conditions of issue, of the lending library. Also, if the requested book is issued to
another user of the lending library, it cannot be quickly borrowed on ILL.
(c) Document Delivery by Joining Library Consortia: Library consortia are usually formed to
achieve sharing of the journal resources savings in subscription costs. In addition, the
journal supplier through the consortium approach, who is usually a large publisher,
provides online access to full texts to several additional journals over and above the
journals subscribed by the consortium. Using this access facility, libraries can meet a
member of demands for delivery of journal articles and other documents transacted by
the consortium. In India, the consortium being operated by IITs, IISC, NITs, IIMs, etc.,
titled INDSET is such consortium.
(d) Document Delivery by procuring Copies from Suppliers: This is a common method of
obtaining documents demanded by the user if they are not held by the library, or by the
libraries covered by ILL arrangement. However, since procuring documents involves
expenditure, this approach for document delivery is used only for bona fide members of
the library and when such procurement is approved by the competent authority

(e) Document Delivery by Collecting it from Websites: A number of websites of publishers
and other document generating agencies usually make full texts of their open (not
classified) documents available on their websites. Such documents are permitted to be
downloaded by those who require them either free or against payment. If a document
requested from the library is not held by the library, and if it is available on the web, often
the user may himself download the document instead of placing the demand on the
library. In spite of this, libraries often have to meet such demands by providing a
downloaded document copy.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
3. .......................... involves providing a document requested by the user by picking it up
from the library itself, if it is available.
4. In ............................... method, the library contacts another library, which has the required
document and obtains it through inter-library loan and delivers to the user who is a
bonafide member of the borrowing library.

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