Java-Assisted Internet Document Delivery

An increasing number of libraries are using the Internet for document delivery, not only for interlibrary loan, but for delivering documents directly to the patron’s desktop computer. This has been made possible through the widespread adoption of software such as Ariel and DocView. Ariel, a product of the Research Libraries Group, converts paper-based documents to bitmapped images, and delivers them over the Internet. The National Library of Medicine’s DocView, released in January 1998 and now used by 2,000 people in over 70 countries, is primarily designed for library patrons to receive, display and manage documents received from Ariel systems. Despite the relative effectiveness of such technologies, Internet document delivery to the patron’s desktop remains a challenge to document delivery librarians for several reasons. First, the librarian may need to assist patrons in acquiring document-viewing software, and in helping them install it on a wide variety of computer platforms. The librarian may also need to help patrons upgrade their viewing software as new versions are released. Because a heterogeneous patron population may be expected to have a diverse range of computer skills, the document delivery librarian may indeed face the challenge of training this population in using the document viewing software. As if this were not enough, the potential problem of copyright abuse always exists when copyrighted material is distributed electronically. How does a library cope with the potential problems introduced with Internet document delivery to the patron’s desktop? One potential solution to this dilemma is Java-assisted document delivery. The National Library of Medicine’s Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications is developing software code-named HotMed and MedJava, which provide a method of delivering library documents through the World Wide Web by using a Java applet. While HotMed is software that delivers multimedia information over the Internet, MedJava is a Java software applet that HotMed delivers with scanned documents. MedJava enables the recipient to view the documents using a Java-enabled web browser. This paper describes the prototype HotMed and MedJava software, and shows how they can significantly reduce or eliminate the problems described here that libraries face in adopting Internet document delivery to the patron’s desktop. 1. Background Document delivery by libraries and information service providers has evolved over the past two decades. Interlibrary loan has traditionally meant photocopies of journal articles being mailed to other libraries. While photocopies are still mailed to requesters, document delivery libraries have since added facsimile transmission, and more recently, Internet document delivery. The 1990s decade has seen the arrival of Internet delivery of library documents, especially with the widespread use of the Ariel system developed and distributed by Research Libraries Group. Ariel has enabled hundreds of libraries to do interlibrary loan electronically via the Internet. It is a technology that is faster than mail, more reliable than fax, and offers higher resolution images than possible through conventional fax. While libraries used Ariel in the first half of this decade for interlibrary loan, the second half has seen more use of the Internet for document delivery to the patron’s desktop computer. DocView, a software product developed at the National Library of Medicine, helps librarians achieve the goal of delivering of library documents over the Internet to the patron’s desktop. Running on all Windows operating systems, DocView is software that enables a library patron to receive documents sent by a library’s Ariel system. DocView’s compatibility with Ariel enables a library or document supplier to use Ariel to scan a printed document and send the resulting images directly to a patron’s computer running DocView. The scanning process produces a file of bitmapped images, which are sent via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) protocol or Multipurpose Mime Email Extensions (MIME) email. DocView is capable of displaying monochrome bitmapped images in either the Group on Electronic Document Interchange (GEDI) file format used by Ariel systems, or in the Tagged Image File Format (TIFF). DocView permits the user to zoom, scroll, pan and rotate document images. A user may “bookmark” pages for easy browsing or printing, and images may be copied for insertion in word processing documents. DocView allows the user to file and organize the received documents through a built-in document management system. Finally, DocView permits the user to forward documents over the Internet to others, using either FTP or MIME email. An extensive period of beta testing that lasted 21⁄2 years revealed that a large majority of users felt that DocView had improved the delivery of documents from their libraries. DocView was released in January 1998 and is freely available. Since its release the DocView software has been downloaded by more than 2,000 registered users in more than 70 countries. A web site established to distribute DocView includes an extensive user manual, a report on the DocView beta test, and published papers related to DocView. The software can be downloaded from the DocView home page on this web site: http://archive.nlm.nih.gov/proj/docview/project.htm. 2. The Challenges for Document Delivery Librarians Despite the promise of technologies such as Ariel and DocView, Internet document delivery to the patron’s desktop continues to remain a challenge to many document delivery librarians for several reasons. First there is the issue of acquiring documentviewing software, distributing it and installing it on a potentially large variety of patron computing platforms. If a library is to begin an Internet document delivery service, the document delivery librarian often must bear the burden of informing the library’s user community of how to receive and use the digital documents. While many patrons have access to Windows platforms, there are environments where other computing platforms, such as Macintosh and Unix, may be as widely used as Windows. This is the case for many university campuses. While DocView runs well under Windows, it is not designed to run under any other operating system. For non-Windows platforms, patrons need to seek shareware and commercial alternatives. The librarian often needs to inform its patrons on the alternative document viewing options for all potential platforms. After the patron acquires the software, it needs to be installed on the patron’s computer. Once again, the document delivery librarian may need to provide assistance with installation. In addition to the task of software installation, there is also the potential task of installing new versions of document viewing software as they are released. When delivery vehicles such as Ariel undergo design changes, sometimes these changes require new versions of software for document reception and usage. If patrons desire to use new versions of document viewers, the software needs to be installed on the patron’s computer. Once again, the librarian may need to assist patrons. Because a heterogeneous patron population may be expected to have a diverse range of computer skills, the document delivery librarian may also face the challenge of training this population in using the document viewing software. While the DocView beta test revealed that most users felt that the software was easy to learn to use, a small minority (about five percent) had difficulty. For any new software there will always be a certain percentage of users who need help. The burden for user training again usually falls on the shoulders of the document delivery librarian. The larger and more diverse the patron population, the more time the librarian will need to spend in user training. As if this was not enough, the potential problem of copyright abuse always exists when copyrighted material is distributed electronically. Most librarians try to ensure that intellectual property rights are observed by asking patrons to adhere to the copyright law. However, once a user receives a document, most document viewing software programs permit some level of functionality that could be used indiscriminately. Examples include document and image editing, retransmission and printing of multiple copies. Some librarians may tend to worry about what happens to an electronically created document after it leaves the library. What will the patron do with it? Will the use be legal or illegal? How does a library cope with the potential problems introduced with Internet document delivery to the patron’s desktop? 3. A Potential Solution A potential solution lies in changing three things: the format of the delivered document, the method of delivery, and the software for document reception / usage. The National Library of Medicine’s Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications is developing software code-named HotMed, which provides three methods for delivering scanned library documents through the Internet: FTP, MIME email, and the World Wide Web. In addition to the TIFF (or GEDI) file format delivered by Ariel systems, HotMed can deliver a document using two alternatives: Portable Document Format (PDF) and MedJava. Table 1 lists the options available for document delivery via HotMed.