The history and development of interlibrary loans and document supply in China

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of the paper is to describe the history of document supply in China and recent developments, locally, regionally and nationally. Design/methodology/approach -Document supply in China is described in detail. Findings -The paper provides insights into the development of document supply in China with practical examples, and suggestions are made for improvement. Originality/value -Document supply in China is a subject that has been addressed rarely in the international library literature. Also provided is a list of web sites that will be valuable for all those wishing to learn more about Chinese document supply.

The development of document supply services in China

“…Although document supply has a long history in China (Fang, 2007), a systematic and specific service did not start until 1991 when the National Science Library (then the Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences) set up a Document Supply Center as a specific service unit, with a group of requesting libraries as its customers, which followed formal procedures. The National Library of China (then called Beijing Library) established its Document Supply Center in 1995.…”

“…In addition to Jiangsu Universities' Document Resources Sharing Cooperation Network and Shanghai Information Resources Network (SIRN) (Fang, 2007), some new regional resource sharing alliances for document supply have been established. Some typical cases are outlined below.…”

Interlending and document supply: a review of the recent literature: 60

“…Others include unifying management systems, establishing union catalogues, reducing service fees and promoting awareness of document supply services. Of interest to all those interested in what is going on in China (Fang, 2007).…”