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ingenta and Lancaster University are working in partnership with the JISC to run a pilot Electronic Article Supply Service (EASY) which aims to replace some elements of the inter-library loan system with electronic article delivery - direct to the user's inbox, at no extra cost. If you have any further questions about the project, please get in touch with sam.phillips@ingenta.com.
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General
What is the pilot trying to show?
The EASY pilot is exploring the viability of a new model of article delivery to researchers. Inter-library loans are increasing in number in the UK (and around the world), but they are resource intensive on libraries - and publishers lose possible income through the system. The EASY pilot aims to explore the viability of satisfying the demand for inter-library loans electronically , by seamlessly integrating the process into traditional inter-library loan management systems.
When does the pilot end?
The pilot project will finish at the end of June 2002
What happens at the end of the pilot?
There is no reason the project should not continue after the end of the pilot, provided that all parties (ingenta, Lancaster, the libraries and the publishers) agree it is working well.
Why is ingenta doing this?
ingenta feels that testing new business models which may benefit the industry is an important development activity. Neither ingenta nor the publishers receive anything like the return per article that they do for an ordinary pay-per-view transaction.
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For users
What does EASY do?
EASY allows your inter-library loan requests for journal articles to be delivered in electronic format directly to your in-box (provided it is available on ingenta, and the publisher allows - see the answer to the next question).
Why can't I get all of my ILL requests delivered electronically?
There are three conditions that must apply before EASY can deliver your ILL requests in electronic format:
- the item must exist in electronic format in the first place
- the item must be available through ingenta (which holds 66% of the world's electronic journals)
- the publisher must have agreed to participate in the EASY project
Obviously, not everything you may ask for through your inter-library loan request will fulfill all three criteria.
Why don't I get any of my ILL requests delivered electronically?
There are a number of reasons you may not have had any of your articles delivered electronically:
- you may have entered the title of the paper or the first author's name inaccurately
- you may not have requested any articles from the journals that are available to the EASY project (see previous question)
What happens if my mailbox rejects the attachment?
If your mailbox rejects the attachment, please consult the person at your site who is responsible for administering your email service. There may be a limit on the size of your mailbox and your limit could have been exceeded.
How soon will documents be delivered after they have been ordered?
ingenta (the suppliers of the documents) will send your documents within two hours of receiving the request for them; however, your librarian may be moderating requests before they are submitted to ingenta, and the network may be busy, so it may take substantially more than two hours to reach you after you have placed your request.
Do I have to pay?
If you have requested an article from a journal your library subscribes to, then no, you will not have to pay. The article is delivered for free. If your institution does not have a subscription to the journal, then we charge £4.20 (inc. VAT) an article, which is a similar charge for an inter-library loan. Depending on the arrangements at your institution, that cost may be passed on to you, or absorbed by the library on your behalf.
The document is garbage when I try to read it on the screen.
This might be because your mail client either can not or has not been configured to handle PDF documents. Check that you have the Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your workstation. (If you don't, you can download it from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html) If Acrobat has been installed and you still cannot read it, consult your email administrator.
Please submit any further questions to: easy@ingenta.com
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For publishers
What are the benefits of EASY for publishers?
EASY replaces some of the inter-library loan traffic with electronic document delivery. Although the cost of getting an article through EASY is much lower than paying for an article through pay-per-view methods, EASY allows publishers some revenue from what was previously inter-library loans. In addition, the pilot project allows publishers to track how many (and which) of their journals are being requested through inter-library loan systems. Also, by participating in EASY, publishers can provide feedback to influence the future of the service, and possible initiatives by the JISC.
Who is taking part?
Oxford University Press, CABI Publishing, Nature and ALPSP have members of their staff on the EASY steering committee.
Other publishers who have signed up for the project include Adis
International, Arnold, Association of Applied Biologists, Bentham Scientific
Publishers, BIOS Scientific, Geological Society, Institute for Fiscal
Studies, Institute of Materials, IOS Press, John Benjamins, White Horse
Press and the British Trust for Ornithology. There are (currently) three
other publishers who have agreed in principle and we expect to add them to
the list very shortly.
(Last updated 19th July 2001)
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For librarians
What about copyright? What conditions apply to the use of the documents?
Unlike requests for photocopies of articles where a signed copyright declaration form is required for each article, paper copyright declarations forms are not required for EASY articles. The user can agree to the copyright declaration and associated terms and conditions of use electronically. Each article arrives with terms and conditions attached. These remind the user that the documents they receive through EASY should only be used for research and private study. The EASY articles can be printed, one paper copy may be made, and the user can make and keep a single electronic copy of the article exactly as it arrives (usually in PDF format).
What does it cost?
A document delivered through the EASY system costs £4.20 (inc. VAT). Throughout the duration of the pilot, the cost will be kept in line with other document delivery services.
What if we don't use ILLOS?
Ideally EASY should be available to non-ILLOS customers. However, EASY as a pilot had limited funding and was based on ingenta as the document supplier and ILLOS as the Inter-Library Loans management system. If the project is successful, Lancaster may be able to attract the funds for a non-ILLOS customer server.
Do we have to use the web interface for ILLOS to use EASY?
Your site needs to use ILLOS 2.1 E before you can use EASY - which means using the web interface. However, if you do not wish to roll out the web interface to your users, you may use the web interface as a tool for you and your colleagues.
What about our subscriptions to journals that aren't on ingenta?
If one of your users orders a journal you already subscribe to through ILLOS, then we will process the order as usual way, and you will be charged for it. EASY adds a safety net for those journals that are in ingenta that a library subscribes to, as the user will get them for free. However, requests which cannot be fulfilled by EASY (in other words, are not on the ingenta server) will go through the inter-library loan system in the usual way.
What happens to our users who don't use e-mail?
The EASY documents can be sent to the Inter-Library Loan mailbox. They may then be printed and sent in the same way that photocopies are sent.
Our e-mail system does not accept attachments. What do you suggest?
If your site e-mail system will not accept any attachments at all (this is very unlikely) then EASY will not work. There has to be at least one mailbox on your site which will accept attachments.
When we order a document, what proof do we have that it has been delivered?
A supply confirmation e-mail is sent to Inter-Library Loans. If the document is not received, please contact the ingenta help desk (help@ingenta.com).
Can we moderate requests?
Yes. The system can be configured so that requests for either individual or all users can be moderated by the Inter-Library Loans staff.
We think the system is rejecting requests it shouldn't be. Why is this? And what can we do about it?
If a user requests an article which is available through EASY, they enter the exact title of the article they need and a correct spelling of the first author's name in order for the article to be delivered electronically. We realize this is less than ideal and are working towards developing solutions.
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general
