An examination of the costs and benefits of an experimental extension of academic library services to remote users

Abstract

The authors describe the networking solutions used in the experimental extension of academic library services from the University of Central Lancashire to an agricultural college some 100 km distant, under the aegis of the EC‐funded BIBDEL Project. Emphasis is placed on the project's use of inexpensive, off‐the‐shelf products, in preference to the commissioning of bespoke software applications. A discussion of the philosophy and ethos of the BIBDEL Project is included, and the extant library services of the two institutions participating in the experiment are compared. The technological and other costs of the experiment are given in tabular form and considered in the text, and are contrasted with the benefits perceived by the remote users of the service. Reference is made to the University of Central Lancashire's retention and expansion of the extended service, on an operational footing, after the close of the experiment.