Document-Delivery Systems in the Information Age

n the past twenty years, information technology has radically transformed I the way librarians and information scientists search the literature. Computerized indexing methods have made it possible to retrieve bibliographies on virtually any topic in a matter of minutes. This immediate access to bibliographic information is clearly a harbinger of the approaching information age. Many are enthusiastically predicting that when this age arrives, information on essentially any subject will be instantly available. Unfortunately, document delivery still remains an important stumbling block in our march toward the information age. The computerized databases that instantly tell us a document exists are not backed up by systems for instantaneously obtaining them. If your library does not have the article identified by a database, it can be days or weeks before that article is in your hands. Ironically, computerized databases have compounded the document-delivery problem by increasing demand for foreign, obscure, and highly specialized journals not widely available. Interlibrary loan (ILL) programs have provided some relief from the frustrations of document fulfillment. But reciprocal borrowing is only a partial and, given current demand, unsatisfactory solution. Librarians are spending increasing amounts of time locating and obtaining requested documents. And, while libraries have traditionally offered ILL as a free ~~