A trial of three commercial document delivery suppliers with strong holdings in biomedicine

The University of Vermont's Medical Library evaluated the services of three commercial document delivery suppliers with significant holdings in biomedicine. The purpose of the trial was to determine whether journal articles could be procured in less time than routine interlibrary loan without greatly increasing costs. Each supplier offered a quick delivery method employing modern technology at a standard fee. The need to pay copyright royalties at times and a desire to test the possibility of substituting "access" for "collection" also prompted the trial. Results reported include: mean and median delivery times, percentages of requested titles held, and average price per transaction, including copyright fee. The Medical Library continues to use commercial services to augment interlibrary loan.