Strategic issues in managing information and document supply in academic libraries Available to Purchase

Explores the strategic management of document and information supply with reference to developments in higher education and the academic library and information services and systems context. It emphasises the evolutionary nature of the issue and performs a generalised environmental analysis of the situation. It identifies and discusses critical factors including: the availability of resources, the nature of demand, the dynamics of information, and changes in culture. Strategic factors of information demand and delivery are considered from both the users’ and LIS managers’ perspectives. Various information and document access scenarios are contrasted, including: traditional collections, interlibrary loan, document delivery and “virtual” networked collections. A section on access issues critically interprets the character of the various approaches currently available. Management’s need for adequate and appropriate information for planning document supply is identified and some observations are made on the contribution of the e‐Lib programme and its components to the issue. The Loughborough‐based FIDDO project is specifically mentioned.