8th Interlending and Document Supply International Conference, Canberra Australia 28-31 October 2003
 



How the West was one: using VDX to redevelop cooperative document delivery services in Western Australian university libraries

Dan Archibald, Toby Burrows and Carolyn McDonald

Abstract | Paper in [PDF] Portable Document Format (PDF)
Presentation in Microsoft® PowerPoint® format

The West Australian Group of University Librarians (WAGUL), which includes Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University and the University of Western Australia have a long history of successful collaborative ventures. A well-established cooperative interlending agreement is one notable venture that has operated successfully for a number of years. To further enhance this service WAGUL decided to participate in the national Local Interlending and Document Delivery Administration System (LIDDAS) Project with the objective of implementing an automated system, using VDX software, to manage document delivery activity. Although joining as Phase 2 participants WAGUL was the first group within LIDDAS to start using the system live. Since 2002, VDX has been used for the transmission of requests and documents between the WAGUL member libraries. The success of this project has largely been the result of the four institutions working together to share work, expertise and problem-solving.

In this paper, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of working collaboratively, specifically looking at the process of implementing a "cutting-edge" automated cooperative document delivery system and will examine the effects of this implementation on document delivery practices in academic libraries.

 

 

 
  National Library of Australia Australian Library and Information Association International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions