UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 38, Page 7
July 21, 1994
UD joins 5 libraries as trading partners

     The University Library has established interlibrary loan
agreements with five major libraries called "trading partners."
     The agreements enable the University Library to provide fast turn-
around for inter-library loan of material not owned. The five trading
partners are the University of Connecticut, the Johns Hopkins
University, the University of Maryland, the University of Pennsylvania
and the University of Pittsburgh-all carefully chosen and evaluated
for mutual benefit.
     The agreements mean that the University of Delaware Library is
able to obtain photocopies of journal articles with priority response
within 24 to 48 hours from the five trading partner libraries.
Requests and photocopies are transmitted between UD and the partner
libraries using the Internet via scanning and digitizing software
called ARIEL.
     Close to 20 percent of all requests by UD users for journal
articles not owned by the library are now filled by these five
partners, and the number increases daily, a library spokesperson said.
The arrangement is reciprocal and requires that the UD Library provide
priority service to the partners in response.
     "Cooperative projects are often words only or a case where the
spirit is willing but the capability weak," Susan Brynteson, director
of libraries, said. "The cooperative agreements that the University of
Delaware Library has initiated with the library trading partners are
working superbly. We are proud!"
     "The trading partnerships have assisted the University of
Delaware Library in significantly increasing the efficiency of its
inter-library operations," Sandra Millard, assistant director for
library public services, said. "A routine inter-library loan request
for a journal article may now often be processed and received in
record time, a few days, or even considerably less."