If you've submitted an inter-library loan request recently, chances are you've experienced the University Library's latest service improvement – e-mail delivery of article and book chapter requests. You can now access your filled journal article or book chapter request via a link to the item in PDF format, delivered to you via e-mail, often receiving your article and chapter requests within one day.

This new system is also a very green option as it enables significantly less paper consumption if you choose to read and save your filled requests in electronic format. No changes have been made to the delivery method for books and other inter-library loan items that must be returned to the library.

E-mail delivery of filled article and book chapter inter-library loan requests went live on Mar. 30. Your e-mailed links to requested items remain active for 14 days or 10 viewings, whichever occurs first.

For years the library has received most filled article and book chapter requests from supplying libraries in electronic format. Prior to the introduction of e-mail delivery, however, Document Delivery Services (DDS) staff distributed those requests to you in printed format due to system limitations. Over the past year the library has addressed those limitations through upgrades to the request forms and the library's inter-library loan management system.

The upgraded request forms now capture your e-mail address, and require you to acknowledge that if the requested work "is under copyright protection, you agree that if a copy is provided, it will be for your private use only, in accordance with the regulations pertaining to fair dealing in the Canadian Copyright Act."

The system upgrade enabled the library to change its delivery method for articles and chapters from print to e-mail. The library shares its inter-library loan management system, Relais, with the libraries at Athabasca University, the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta, which hosts the Relais servers.

"The implementation of this service has gone extremely smoothly," says Rumi Graham, DDS manager. "We have received many positive comments from faculty and students regarding the speed with which requests are filled, ease of use, and the positive impact on the environment."

Graham acknowledges the enthusiasm and dedication of the DDS staff who helped plan and implement the e-mail delivery option: Rosemary Howard, Linda McLeod, Carolyn Gaebel, Marina Crow, and Mara Baldwin, as well as Samantha Lutterotti, a member of the library's Systems and Web Services staff, who provides technical support for the library's Relais workstations and systems files.