Recent developments at The British Library Document Supply Centre
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb040529 |
| Pages | 7-11 |
| Published date | 01 February 1994 |
| Date | 01 February 1994 |
| Author | Stephen Vickers |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Recent developments
at The British Library
Document Supply
Centre
by Stephen Vickers, Customer
Liaison,
Service Development, The British
Library Document Supply Centre(1)
Introduction
Demand
for
The
British Library Document
Supply
Centre's services
is
growing
steadily.
This article examines
the
typical steps
in the
document request
and
delivery
chain,
and
reports on how
BLDSC
is
developing
new
systems
and
methods
to
meet
the
needs of
users.
Electronic document delivery
is a rapid
growth
area
and
the
Centre
is
conducting
several
experiments
in
conjunction
with other
organisations
in
order
to
test
the
technology.
Last year the British Library Document Supply
Centre received some 3,700,000 requests; more
than 2,800,000 from UK customers
and
more than
850,000 from international customers.
UK
demand
grew
by
8%
and
international demand
by
3.6%.
This means that the Centre handles some 15,000
requests
on any
working
day.
Two imperatives drive
the
response
of
the Centre
to this level
of
demand. The first
is an
external
imperative
to
respond
to
the needs and expecta-
tions
of
our customers. The second
is an
internal
imperative
to
meet these needs
by
using
the
most
efficient
and
cost effective procedures.
Automation
and
new technologies clearly have
a
role
to
play
to
help meet these objectives. This
does
not
mean that
any
and every activity
at the
Centre should
or
indeed
can
be automated. Rather
it
is a
matter
of
assessing
and
applying
new
technologies when clear service
or
cost benefits
can
be
secured.
The Centre's activities form part
of
a
longer chain
which typically includes
the
following steps:
•
identification
of
the need
for
a document
by
a customer
•
transmission
of
that request
to the
Centre
(direct
or
via
an
intermediary)
•
receipt
of
that request
•
retrieval
of
the item
•
despatch
of
the item
in the
original
or
as
a
surrogate (directly
to
the
end
customer
or
via
an
intermediary)
•
payment
for
the service.
Each
of
these will be treated
in
turn. The implemen-
tation
of
coherent systems that bring together the
technologies being applied
to
these processes will
be discussed, as will the problems that
at
present
militate against such integrated developments.
It should
be
stressed that this
is a
picture
of
present
activities
and
future prospects. Any such picture
is
likely
to be
overtaken
by
new developments. What
is clear
is
that the Centre
has
taken, and will
continue
to
take,
an
innovative approach
to the
development
of
products
and
services,
and
will
take full advantage
of
new technological possibili-
ties
as
they arise.
Identification
of a
needed
document
The Centre traditionally
has
played little role
in
assisting users
to
identify potentially useful docu-
ments.
It
has published,
and
continues
to
make
available, information both
on its
collection
policies
and on its
holdings. The fact that
the
Centre continues
to
fill some 89%
of
requests from
its own stock means that customers can send
requests with
a
degree
of
confidence that their
needs
can be met.
(1) The views expressed are those of
the
author and should not be interpreted as policy statements
of
the
British
Library.
VINE 95 (June 1994)
—
7
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