Innovation during evolution: Document Supply Service digitises library collections

Abstract

The Document Supply Service of the National Library of Australia has taken an innovative and strategic approach during its evolution in the digital age. While the section was providing efficient and client oriented interlibrary loan and document delivery services (ILL/DD), in 2003 it began digitising collections based on user demand, enabled by the introduction of the of the Copies Direct Service, an easy to use online ordering service. This bottom up approach to digitisation was taken as soon as technology to keep a scanned copy was developed by the Library. A decade later, while digitisation has now become an intrinsic part of the Library’s strategic directions, the Document Supply Service is contributing about half of the in house digitised collection images as a by-product of its ILL/DD services.

The paper will cover the development of digitisation practices adopted by the Document Supply Service, discuss the convergence with the planned digitisation undertaken by the Library’s Digitisation and Photography Branch and describe how the automated interlibrary loan and document delivery management system Relais has been developed and used to manage and report some of the digitisation activities. The National Library is currently undertaking the development of a books and journals digitisation program and the role of Document Supply Service in the Library’s future digitisation program will also be discussed.