Best Practices in Medical Interlibrary Loan and Electronic Document Delivery

A library is a fancy sports car parked in the garage. It has a lot of potential but is of little value unless you take it out on the highway. This is especially true of medical libraries; with their wealth of information parked inside, they have a large potential for positively affecting the health and well-being of people. This potential is only realized when that information is accessed and quickly and efficiently disseminated. Medical researchers, students, health care professionals, and especially physicians often demand a high level of service due to the nature of their work. These demands, costs and organizational considerations all drive change (Marshall, 1992). The articles in this special edition of the Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Electronic Reserve reveal