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Resource sharing is changing. Formalized resource sharing arrangements are growing. Library catalogs are being unionized making unmediated borrowing between libraries possible. Users are responding positively to the improved interfaces of catalogs that allow them to easily search, locate and request items, from almost anywhere, for themselves. Resource sharing and interlending is increasing dramatically. As a result, demands on delivery services are high and likely to grow.

Materials delivery is an important yet neglected part of the process of getting useful information into the hands of users. Library delivery is usually associated with moving materials from library to library, but in the very near future it will be more important for libraries to deliver material directly to their users. Users choose convenience over quality. They don’t care about the best source of information, the want a satisfactory source. An information source that is satisfactory and convenient will always be chosen over a source that is inconvenient.

Library delivery is sometimes outsourced, sometimes managed by consortia or regional groups, and sometimes provided by commercial providers such as UPS and Federal Express. Many libraries use a combination of these delivery services. However libraries move materials, it is important to recognize that the process should be transparent to users. Only the outcome is important. The process of delivering a selected item to the user must be seamless, convenient and fast. Users don’t need to know (and don’t want to know) whether the item is requested from another branch or from a member library within a consortium or from a library across the world.

Convenient, transparent and fast delivery is not easy for libraries to accomplish because of the lack of connection between circulation systems and delivery systems. Delivery stands apart from all other library systems. However, as libraries expand the reach of their virtual holdings, and as interlending increases, future library systems will be compelled to integrate delivery management into library systems. Until such time as truly integrated library systems are available, delivery must operate independent from the other library systems yet provide delivery that is convenient, transparent, and fast.

Libraries are increasingly making it possible for users to discovery and request items for themselves. More materials are likely to move between libraries as discovery of library materials is made more possible by shared catalogs, and initiatives like Google Scholar, and increased use of RSS feeds and metadata harvesting tools because users are more inclined to borrow items from remote libraries when they can do it themselves.

Users expect the convenience of other delivery providers like UPS and FedEx and will increasingly expect libraries to provide materials as conveniently as Amazon. Unless libraries can respond to the need for more flexible, convenient, and transparent delivery, many users will likely choose other information providers over the library.

Demands on organizations that provide delivery to libraries are going to increase due to high user expectations of turnaround times, cost and convenience. Libraries would benefit from integrating materials delivery with other library systems including circulation, and interlibrary loan. Such integration would increase the efficiency of the system for library staff and the transparency of the system for users.

Better discovery tools, resource-sharing opportunities and high user expectations are changing the needs of library delivery services. Organizations providing these services must remain agile and ready to adapt to the increased and changing demands of library users for fast, convenient, and flexible delivery.

The above post is an excerpt from a larger report prepared for the Metropolitan New York Library Council. Read full report (PDF)