Australia’s interlending system is distinct in
the world, largely because of the strong
element of voluntary co-operation and
resource sharing between institutions. There is
much evidence to support the notion that the
Australian system has all the potential to be a
good and effective system of resource sharing.
There is, however, an equally strong feeling
that this system of resource sharing is breaking
down, that it is not keeping pace with emerg-
ing opportunities in the information environ-
ment and is unable to respond dynamically to
a variety of pressures for change. While these
same pressures for change are affecting a more
general reappraisal of service provision across
all library sectors, they are felt most acutely
among academic institutions.
Crisis in university libraries
Many changes have occurred in university
libraries over recent years, chief among them
being the apparent movement away from
print-based information resources towards
electronic media and technology-based infor-
mation sources. However, it is not only devel-
opments in information technology which are
forcing change or, at least, consideration of
change, but also increasingly constrained
financial resources which cannot keep pace
with inflation, let alone stretch to cover all
possible resources for all possible needs.
These elements, among others, have forced a
re-evaluation of the various ways in which
university libraries meet their commitment to
information provision.
It is possibly not an exaggeration to claim
that the consequences of new electronic
media and technology-based information
resources being deployed in libraries are as
revolutionary in scope as the development of
Gutenberg’s movable-type. Gutenberg’s
invention affected generations of scholars and
changed profoundly the fundamental struc-
ture of the great institutions of learning. Lowe
(1990) reminds us that technology has, in
fact, had great impact on society at all stages
of development, so much so that each epoch
in the history of civilization has typically been
named for the dominant technology of the
time: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron
Age and so on. Lowe suggests, however, that
our particular problem with new develop-
ments in technology is that the change, or the
potential for change, is all happening very
quickly, and that future historians are likely to
see this period of change “as altering society
103
Interlending & Document Supply
Volume 25 · Number 3 · 1997 · pp. 103–107
© MCB University Press · ISSN 0264-1615
Interlending and
document supply in
Australia: the way
forward
Judith Greenaway
The author
Judith Greenawayis Project Manager for the
Coordinated Interlibrary Loan Administration (CILLA)
Project, Griffith University, Prahran, Australia.
Abstract
It is now recognized that libraries not only need to work
smarter and more efficiently for the benefit of an identified
clientele, but also need to be innovative in the way
services are provided to make the best possible use of
resources: human, material, technical and financial.
Traditional approaches to providing interlending and
document delivery services have typically resulted in
operations with little or no integration of systems and with
little opportunity to improve efficiencies at the point
where the services cost most – library staff. It is also
obvious, however, that technology alone cannot provide
the answers. Argues that a more fundamental approach
needs to be adopted in a reappraisal of the current service
models to ensure continuing relevance of libraries in
providing information to their clients in a way that encour-
ages competitive services and effective resource sharing,
while reducing the need for library mediation.