The 8th Interlending and Document Supply International Conference

1. The 8th Interlending and Document Supply International Conference ILL in the fast lane: a Hong Kong perspective by Ruth Wong Shuk-ching & Peter E. Sidorko

2. Where are we?

3. A night scene of Hong Kong

4. The University of Hong Kong

5. The University of Hong Kong Libraries - Main Library

6. Who are we? • First university, founded in 1910 • 42 first degree and 43 Master’s degree programmes • 14,400 FTE government funded students • with an extension school - SPACE with 60,000 students each year

7. Missions of the University of Hong Kong Libraries • “To provide services which are closely linked with the University’s priority” • Research output --> impacts on ILL Office • “To collaborate with other regional, national and international academic institutions and counterparts for resource sharing.” • Joined OCLC in 2001 --> ILL requests from overseas increased steadily

8. Interlibrary Loans and Photocopying Department • One Main Library and Six branch libraries • ILL and Photocopying Dept. deal with all borrowing activities and keep statistics • All branch libraries involved in ILL lending activities

9. ILL system - “automated” • In-house written with FoxPro • Borrowing, searching and tracking capabilities • All reports and statistics --> FoxPro functions • Lending data stored in a separate Access database

10. ILL system - request • Highly mediated • Re-input all data • Requests in paper forms • Faxes between local libraries • Use Ariel, OCLC ILL and ARTTel for overseas libraries

11. ILL automated system study • 1997 - ILL module release 10 of Innopac • 2000 - Millennium ILL module of Innopac Unfavorable commends: • Accounting and statistical features do not satisfy our needs • No local library was using it • As a result • The in-house system was further developed until 2002

12. Power of cooperation - ILL system evaluation Chaotic stage • 8 libraries --> 8 ILL systems (7 in-house, 1 commercial product) • 2001 - cross-institutional task force from CUHK, BUHK, HKU • Evaluate OCLC ILLiad

13. Power of cooperation - ILL system evaluation System requirements • User-friendliness • Online requests, online renewal, electronic document delivery, notifications generation • Search & query, accounting and statistics, user authentication

14. Power of cooperation - ILL system evaluation Benefits • Free trial for three and a half months • Able to test ISO ILL • Wider scope of discussions and understanding of the system

15. Power of cooperation - ILL system evaluation Achievements • Implement OCLC ILLiad • The fourth university - CityU joined immediately • Cheaper price for on-site training • TWO More universities joined in 2003

16. Implementation - the challenges New charging policy • Cost recovery vs. quota based system • Academic and research staff 150 • Postgraduates 125 • Final year students 25 • SPACE Academics 100 • SPACE students (local resources) 100

17. New workflow Centralization of interlibrary loan services • Borrowing and lending requests via Web interface • Better control on • Turnaround time • ILL statistics collecting • Communications rely on emails

18. New workflow Meets the Libraries’ performance pledge Pledge: • 85% of items need to be delivered • Local: in 4 days • Overseas: in 2 weeks • All articles are delivered electronically

19. New workflow Meets the Libraries’ performance pledge To meet the pledge: • Use macros to avoid duplicating data input • Use LendingWeb • Encouraged to use ISO ILL

20. New workflow Staff training • Exposure to the new system before the official training • Work buddies • More training on computing skills • Staff participation in logistics planning

21. Driving in the fast lane 2003: What have we achieved? • ILL requests increased 36.15% • Borrowing requests increased 65.57% • Lending requests increased 17.88% • Turnaround time shortened: • For loans 3.29 days • For articles 9.97 days • No extra staff has been added

22. Are we in control of the fast lane? A survey: • A questionnaire on a 5-point scale to measure, • satisfaction with ILL staff & services, the new system and article delivery methods • 15 questions • Conducted in paper form and online • 116 respondents from printed form • 37 respondents from online • 27 faculty members, 83 postgraduates, 6 final year students, 24 administrative and other staff

23. Are we in control of the fast lane? Satisfaction level: • Timely notification and helpfulness of ILL staff • 81.66% • ILL staff try their best to get the requested resources • 87.86% • ILL Office’s overall performance • 96.43%

24. Are we in control of the fast lane? Satisfaction level (2): • Round-the-clock electronic requesting is convenient • 96.43% • Overall satisfaction with the new system • 84.28% • Choice of article delivery method: • Electronic delivery 77.86% • Internal mail 11.43% • Pickup at the ILL Office 10.71%

25. Are we in control of the fast lane? Observations: • ILL staff are ready to answer questions - less satisfied • Transparency of the system adds stress • New to the system • Preferred article delivery methods • 22.14 % in total do not want electronic delivery only • Faculty members 33.3%, Postgraduates 17%, Final year students 16.6% and other staff 8.3%

26. “L-platers” in the fast lane. What have we learned? • Cooperation is a power • Shared views, perspectives and experiences • Solve problems together • User authentication • CJK display • Printing CJK • Import emails to lending module

27. What dreamland will this fast lane lead to? • User Initiated Document Delivery • Software tested: SFX and Webbridge • Innopac INNreach • January 2004

28. Questions & Comments Thank You