Document delivery service in an open distance environment is one way of taking library services to remote students. However, this service is not without challenges. For example, problems related to document delivery services may include unclaimed library materials by students, which costs the library money, and ‘return to sender’ parcels from the post office. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the provision of document delivery services in an ODeL environment with reference to the University of South Africa (UNISA). Data were collected through document analysis and interviews with purposively UNISA library staff working at the document delivery section. The findings indicated that UNISA library uses mail, courier and e-learning platforms for the provision of document delivery services. It was established that often, courier companies deliver parcels without contacting the students, which sometimes results in the parcel being received by the wrong recipient or returned to the university. It is concluded that even with the use of modern technology in document delivery services at UNISA, delivered documents still get lost. A framework for implementation of document delivery services that can speed up delivery and minimize loss of materials is suggested.Keywords: Document delivery serviceslibrarymaterialopen distance learningUniversity of South Africalibrary
Abstract The Office Delivery service at the Pennsylvania State University Libraries’ University Park campus allows faculty and staff to request and receive libraries owned and borrowed materials in their campus offices. This service is operated by the Interlibrary Loan team and was created in the summer of 2013. The service has grown since its inception, and in December 2017, the Interlibrary Loan team took steps to expand the service to graduate students. This article presents a brief history of the office delivery service, including procedures followed to request materials and steps taken to offer the service to graduate students. The article will also describe how staff solicited feedback from pilot users of the graduate delivery service, and plans for the future.
Abstract A milestone occurred in Israeli Interlibrary loans when the Directors’ Forum of the University Heads’ Committee approved funding for a non-fee based ILL pilot in the eight universities, in an attempt to address the financial difficulties faced by humanities & social sciences students and researchers. The article reviews the literature on the ethics of fee charging, non-fee based ILL ventures, the financial burden on MA & PhD students, increased patron use and satisfaction, the costs and complications of fee charging and invoicing, and the global decline in ILL. It describes ILL services in 22 Israeli university libraries before and after implementation of a non-fee based pilot, and outlines the processes that led to the launching of the project. The purpose of the article is to present a model of project management, from its inception until its establishment as a permanent arrangement, and to show how the removal of fees was a game-changer, reviving Israeli ILL.
Due to the growing presence of artificial intelligence (AI) in developed countries, this study investigates the awareness and perception about artificial intelligence in the management of university libraries in Nigeria. The study is a survey design that is based on both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The population of the study comprised eighty academic librarians from eight purposively selected university libraries in the country. The finding of the study revealed that academic librarians are aware of the existence of AI usage in the university libraries and that the fear of job loss is the major constraint they face in the adoption of the technologies; even though they are aware that the innovative technologies will enable efficient user satisfaction. The study recommends the need for academic librarians to make themselves relevant in this era of the fourth industrial revolution, by acquiring necessary skills that are in line with the technologies. It is also critical that library management educate academic librarians to understand that the adoption of AI in the library does not translate to the loss of jobs.
This article presents findings from a survey regarding use of an e-reserve service, and how those findings contributed to a decision to discontinue an e-reserve service at a large, academic research library. In addition to survey results, the article explores how the nature of the e-reserve service changed from inception to discontinuation, what changes ultimately led to the demise of the service, and how the library worked with faculty and instructors to transition from e-reserves to a shared course management platform.Keywords: Electronic reserve AcknowledgementsThe author would like to thank and acknowledge Jen-chien Yu, Coordinator of Library Assessment, for her assistance with creation and analysis of the survey conducted Spring 2016 for the Task Force to Investigate the Future of Reserve Services. The author would also like to thank and acknowledge B.A. Davis-Howe for ongoing support and assistance with data relating to the service.
