I think one of the reasons people post requests for items on the LAW-LIB
list is because it's fast. It's easy to send e-mail and the responses can
be incredibly fast. Great, instant, gratification. And free, too (I
know, I know, nothing is really "free", but I'll explain below).
Also, e-mailing requests to listservs or to Net colleagues directly does
help when you don't have the item in your collection, you are not aware of
nearby, local sources of information, and you are not aware of free or
low-cost document delivery services. But, even if you are aware, there
are some good reasons not to avail yourself of traditional ILL, local
sources or document delivery services.
What's cumbersome about these other options:
1. They're bureaucratic, form-laden; you have to fill out forms, paper or
electronic on both sides of the transaction - lender and borrower;
2. They cost - I think we paid $11 for a 2 page article from CARL UnCover
once! It stung! Ouch! (I'm not used to paying for stuff);
3. They take time (the faster, the more costly) and you have to follow-up
sometimes; there might be many people handling your request.
4. They have to be in place (traditional ILL arrangements) or you have to
know about the document delivery services (this does not help with urgent
requests).
5. It is a lot of work to search local online catalogs and, if needed,
WorldCat or other catalogs worldwide for which library has a journal and
then search individual catalogs for if they have that particular volume
and issue you need, and then call or fax or e-mail that particular
library to arrange to have a copy of the article faxed or mailed to
you. And then wait for the article to come in, especially when, in most
instances, you can do a quick database search and printout the article
in 5 minutes max! (okay, I'm exaggerating a little bit here...:-))
I agree with much of what has been said on this thread - you should
exhaust local resources first (established ILL partners, local libraries
and librarians, local/chapter law library listservs); law-lib does reach a
lot more people and gives you the best chance of getting a response,
and fast!, but should not be used as a first resourse; emergencies are
exceptions; people should become aware of document delivery services
(thanks, Mary, for posting those URLs!) and local ILL
procedures/arrangements.
On a related note, from time to time, I get asked for documents and
journal articles from non-U.S. librarians and non-librarians. I am not
aware of what the local document delivery situation is, so I cannot make
suggestions re local resources (how nearby is the library that might have
the resource if one checks their online catalog and finds out they own it;
what kind of borrowing or document delivery do they have?; is there a
local depository for UN or EU documents?; should I assume they've exhausted
local resources for that U.S. law review article they want?).
And I am reluctant to refer them to fee-based document delivery sources
such as UnCover, Boalt Express, etc., because, well, they cost...:-)
and I'm not sure how the transaction in different currencies work.
Suggesting that they post their request to a relevant listserv in the hope
that some nice person will send them the article for free is an option,
but what if it becomes a frequent choice or the request to the list is
for, like, 20 articles?
For a librarian, I'd like to suggest to them how to set up interlibrary
loan arrangements with local or national libraries, or how to work with
document delivery services, but this it not my area of expertise. But, I
do have the URL now to existing document delivery services that I can give
them and other requesters as an option for getting needed law review
articles and documents.
My 2 cents,
Lyo
(who's all for reforming traditional ILL procedures to make them faster,
faster...:-))
(oh, the explanation as to why getting an article via LAW-LIB is not
really "free" - someone took time to pull the volume from the stacks, copy
the article and send it - their institutional resources, their time,
their paper, their staff, costs $)
Lyonette Louis-Jacques | llou@midway.uchicago.edu
Foreign and International Law | "Injustice anywhere is a
Librarian and Lecturer in Law | threat to justice everywhere"
University of Chicago Law School | - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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