The Investigation of Demand for a Rapid Document Delivery Service for the University of Pittsburgh Library System. Final Report

A joint project of the University of Pittsburgh Library System and the School of Library and Information Science investigated the need for a rapid document delivery service within the University Library System (ULS). Two instruments were designed to answer questions about library patrons' uses of bibliographic citations retrieved in online database searches and the patron's need for rapid document delivery. Questionnaires were distributed to 196 people (145 to database search users and 51 to interlibrary load users). Questionnaires were returned by 80 (55.2%) of the search requestors and 33 (64.7%) of the users of interlibrary loan. Several fundamental issues were explored in this project, including: (1) users' perceptions of the meaning of "rapid" in a rapid document delivery system; (2) the likelihood that users would utilize interlibrary loan channels if a rapid document delivery service were available; (3) users' willingness to pay for a rapid document delivery service; and (4) differences between the responses of users of different libraries on campus to issues 2 and 3. Following careful analysis of the study data by appropriate university bodies and other interest groups, a plan to develop a rapid document delivery service will be investigated. Questionnaires, an annotated bibliography, and the project Budget are appended. (THC)