Now we’re getting somewhere – adventures in Trans Tasman interlending
Abstract
For 10 years the National Library of Australia and the National Library of New Zealand have each operated VDX as a national interlending utility. Being early adopters of the application created pain – as implementers, as administrators and for users. Ten years on the pain has almost ceased through careful management of upgrades and selected implementation of features. Rather than the ‘big bang’ approach it is now one of a measured and gentle release of features that create usability gains. Trans Tasman interlending is one such gain – suddenly the resources of 1500 libraries are easily accessible to the citizens of two nations. The story is one of creating building blocks, achieving the goal and moving on to the next hurdle. 94 years later, after forging strong ties at Gallipoli, the ANZAC spirit lives on – even if NZ does beat them at rugby! The future promises new software releases and the delivery of enhancements with the likelihood that both national libraries will update in tandem. Some thinking is also required about how a traditional interlending service reacts and grows to meet the challenges posed by a changing user community.
Full Text: PDF