Using the Web for Fast, Convenient Electronic Document Delivery Eric H. Schnell Associate Professor Head, Information Technology Prior Health Sciences Library The Ohio State University

Web Delivery “The process of (re)distributing documents to the library customer using web technology”

ILL / Document Delivery Processes  Interlibrary loan  lending library to borrowing library  Document delivery  borrowing library to customer  Document delivery (future)  lending library direct to customer

Document Delivery Techniques  postal service  FAX   web

Document Delivery Techniques  Postal Service  labor intensive  postage/envelopes  slow turnaround

Document Delivery Techniques  FAX  photocopy and send  telecom costs  quality issues  labor intensive  shorter turnaround

Document Delivery Techniques  Attachments  scan and send  higher quality large files  ISP download speeds  single station availability  linear downloading  image viewers  attachment size limits  spam filters

Document Delivery Techniques  Web  scan and send  large files  higher quality  faster broadband speeds  Acrobat PDF viewer  multiple download locations  parallel downloads

Typical Document Processing Local Library Customer OCLC / DOCLINE Lending “A”Lending “B” IDD Lending “C” Postal Print Repackage Convert Postal Fax

Web Document Processing Local Library Customer OCLC / DOCLINE Lending “A”Lending “B” IDD Lending “C” Postal Convert Web Delivery

Web Delivery Infrastructure  Processing station  Scanning  Reformatting ( -> pdf)  IDD receiving  Customer alert system  Web server  Lots of storage space (2mb average per document)  Authentication scheme  Document self-destruct mechanism  Backup system

Web Delivery Benefits  simplified processes / workflow charts  telecom and supply cost reductions  anywhere, anytime availability  faster turnaround times

Copyright 2001 Thatch Bui Web Delivery Won’t Let This Happen ! PC & Pixel by Bui & Johnson Librarian

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