National Library of Australia Annual Report 2000-01
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Report on OperationsOutput Group 1Output Group 2Output Group 3
Output Group 2. Information Services

Output 2.2 - Collection Delivery

OUTPUT DESCRIPTION

Australian library materials and other documentary resources are delivered to on-site and remote users through the Library's reading rooms, through interlibrary loan and document delivery and through the reproduction of items from the Library's collections.

Royal invitation
click to enlarge image[An invitation to meet Their Royal Highness the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York in celebration of the opening of the first Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia]
[Melbourne : s.n., 1901]
Pictorial Collection

Illustrating the National Library's Federation Gateway web site

PERFORMANCE — OUTPUTS

Performance Targets

Quantity

390 200 collection items delivered to Library users, in response to requests
300 000 users accessed digitised collection items on the Library's web site

390 722 items were delivered from the collection in response to requests. A further 152 531 users accessed networked CD-ROMs and electronic publications available from computers in reading rooms.

562 345 users accessed digitised collection items via the Library's web site, exceeding the target by 87 per cent.

Quality

90 per cent of requestors satisfied with the Library's document delivery services, on-site, through interlibrary loans, and through the web site
90 per cent of required collection items delivered within service standards

A client survey of retrieval services from the Library's print collections showed 93 per cent satisfaction with the Library's document delivery services.

On-site retrieval performance was assessed against service standards throughout the year. On average, 93 per cent of material stored on-site and 100 per cent of material stored off-site was delivered within service standards.

91 per cent of interlibrary loans and copies were dispatched within the four day standard specified in the Service Charter.

Price

$17.07 (without Capital Use Charge) per collection item delivered to Library users

The unit price per collection item delivered to Library users was $10.36 (without Capital Use Charge).

PERFORMANCE—OUTCOME

Effectiveness Indicator

90 per cent of requests for collection items through the Library's Main Reading Room and 79 per cent of requests for collection items through interlibrary loan, are met
300 000 users accessed digitised collections on the Library's web site

93 per cent of collection items delivered through the Main Reading Room were met.

83 per cent of requests were met through interlibrary loan.

As noted above a total of 562 345 users accessed digitised collection items via the Library's web site, exceeding the target by 87 per cent.

KEY ISSUES

Performance Improvement

Tube room at the National Library of Australia

click to enlarge imageThe tube room — whose function is now largely replaced following the introduction of e-CallSlips

The implementation of e-CallSlips represents a major improvement in delivery of material from the Library's printed collections. Print material can be requested or reserved electronically on-site and off-site 24-hours a day. Requests are sorted electronically, printed in the appropriate stack and tracked while in use.

To assist with more efficient retrieval and tracking of collection items, a project was commenced to barcode additional parts of the printed collection.

Patterns of Use

On-site use of the Library's printed collection declined by 10 per cent on last year's results. This pattern was again offset by the continuing increase in the use of electronic resources.

The Library is experiencing difficulty in obtaining consistent and reliable data on usage of electronic resources from commercial providers and the Library's log file analysis software. The Library is working to improve the accuracy of usage data.

Requests for interlibrary loans and copies were 12 per cent below target. This was substantially due to a decline in the use of the National Film and Video Lending Service.

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