ISSN 1443-0568 | no. 72 | December 2004
Copies DirectWhere We Are at Now
The Copies Direct service was introduced in November 2002 to allow individuals to request photocopies from the National Library collections. Since its introduction the service has grown in popularity. In April 2004 the service was extended to allow users to place orders for all types of material, including oral history, manuscripts, photographs, etc. It has now become a true one-stop shop for users ordering copies from the Library’s collections.
There are two main services—normal/standard and priority. Material from the printed collections, if available, is dispatched within five working days, with photographic orders taking longer at between two and three weeks. This longer time-frame also applies to photocopy requests for fragile material. The priority applies to all material types and if the material is available and conditions met, the material is dispatched within three working days. The cost varies depending on the material requested and the delivery time selected.
The service has been streamlined and improvements to our supply were made by offering Ariel Web delivery, which allows end users to receive and access the requested documents immediately. Postal delivery is still available but the majority of users prefer the speed of online delivery.
The easiest way to access the service is through the National Library’'s online catalogues. Simply search the catalogues, display the full record and you can easily place an order for a copy by selecting Copies Direct from the menu. All of the bibliographic data is copied across to the order form. Then follow the prompts. This service is also available through the pictures catalogue, in this case select 'order’.
The Copies Direct home page includes links to helpful information, of particular note is the new link to ‘Photographic Reproductions: Quality and Service Standards’ which covers the conditions and standards of the service, for images supplied by the National Library of Australia.
Whilst you can order a copy of most collection items there will be times when it will not be possible to supply a copy. Some of the reasons include: the material is too fragile to copy, the item is not available, for example it is currently missing or in use; or there may be copyright or permission considerations.
For more information on Copies Direct visit our website at: <www.nla.gov.au/copiesdirect>.