Design issues in the development of an electronic reserve system
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07378839910267190 |
| Published date | 01 March 1999 |
| Pages | 50-54 |
| Date | 01 March 1999 |
| Author | Stephen G. Thomas |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Intentions and desires
Towards the end of 1993, the University of
Adelaide Library IT committee (COLIT) began
looking at the implementation of an Electronic
Reserve system. Like most University libraries,
we had a “Reserve” collection, aimed at max-
imising access to high-demand printed materi-
als by restricting loan periods to a short (three-
hour) duration, and confining use to a small
area of the Library. The Reserve collection
consists of text books, along with photocopies of
journal articles and excerpts from books.
By 1993, available technologies had reached
a point at which it seemed feasible to make the
photocopied materials available “online”
through computer screens, by scanning and
converting to text. In the Reserve context, this
had the potential to make materials even more
readily available, since simultaneous use of the
same item by an unlimited number of people
would be possible, and users would be able to
access the items from anywhere on the campus.
Our hope, then, was simply that we would be
able to enhance our service to students by
extending and improving access to high-
demand course materials.
Initial investigations
At that time, a number of other libraries in
Australia and overseas were looking at similar
projects. Notably, for us, the Australian National
University (ANU) and Monash University in
Melbourne were engaged in pilot projects, and
these revealed to us the two broad approaches
available.
The first possible approach was to use a Web-
based server. Documents were expected to be in
some image format (TIFF, GIF or JPEG),
derived by scanning paper source materials.
Client access would be through a standard Web
browser, using readily available image programs
to view the documents retrieved.
The second approach, adopted at that time
by Monash, was to use a proprietary system.
Paper source materials were sent to a bureau
service for scanning and conversion to Group
IV fax format, and the resulting files placed on a
Netware server, with a custom-written retrieval
program running on client PCs.
With hindsight, the Monash approach seems
obviously wrong, because it limits access to
50
Design issues in the
development of an
electronic reserve
system
Stephen G. Thomas
The author
Stephen G. Thomas is a Senior Systems Analyst at the
University of Adelaide Library, South Australia.
E-mail: sthomas@library.adelaide.edu.au
Keywords
Academic libraries, Australia, Electronic publishing,
Library services, Reserves
Abstract
Towards the end of 1993, the University of Adelaide Library
began looking at the implementation of an Electronic Reserve
system. At that time, a number of other libraries in Australia
and overseas were looking at similar projects. Our first
useable Electronic Reserve system was built in early 1995,
using scanned exam papers in TIFF format. Later we tried a
different approach. We sought original machine-readable
copies of exam papers from the departments (i.e. in word-
processor formats), and converted them into PDF using
Acrobat Pro. A further change in procedures has come about
in 1998, due to improvements in Microsoft Office that
allowed easy conversion of Word documents to HTML. Some
lessons we learned were: a variety of methods are available
for the creation of content; do not underestimate the level of
effort required; and the need for commitment from all parties
involved is of prime importance.
Library Hi Tech
Volume 17 · Number 1 · 1999 · pp. 50–54
© MCB University Press · ISSN 0737-8831
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