Is this the end of the "article economy"? A strategic review of document delivery

With the advent of the Internet, the Web and electronic publishing systems, new ways of delivering scholarly information have arisen which challenge some of the traditional growth assumptions made for document delivery. Conventional theory described an emerging need for an escape valve to release some of the tensions created by institutional budgets being unable to keep track with the growing output and price escalation of published information. Document delivery and its cousin, interlibrary loan, provided such a release mechanism. However, it is apparent that information technology (IT) is providing new ways to overcome the traditional "frustration gap" between document demand and supply. These new options pose both a challenge and an opportunity for the British Library Document Supply Centre (BLDSC) which remains the world's largest document delivery agency. The article will discuss some of the ways BLDSC is adapting in order to retain its leadership role and remain in tune with new end user demands for information.