Liddas goes live

Abstract

Australian libraries have had a highly cooperative approach to resource sharing for many years. Interlibrary lending (ILL) has become increasingly automated since the introduction of the online union catalogue in 1981 and the national interlending system (ABN ILL) in 1989. In 1997, after major projects investigating the need to automate electronic delivery of documents to end users and for automation of interlibrary lending processes, the Local Interlending and Document Delivery Administration Systems (LIDDAS) project was formally launched. This paper reviews the factors influencing the establishment of the project, its operation and implementation. The impact and success of the project is evaluated, together with an assessment of issues that remain unresolved. An evaluation of key issues for the development of automation of interlibrary loans for the twenty-first century is provided, focusing on the need to develop greater international collaboration and greater interoperability through resource discovery tools such as portals and search engines. Show more