Access versus holdings: document delivery realities

The access versus holdings debate has been one of the 'hot topics' within t he information world for some time, and the performance of document deliver y services is an integral part of the discussion. This article focuses on w ork currently being undertaken at the University of Liverpool to investigat e and evaluate existing and future document supply services. Reference is m ade to related literature, the background to the pilot projects is explaine d, and the criteria utilised for the inclusion of services are propounded. A detailed evaluation of the following services is included: BL's inside, B ODOS, Ei Text from Elsevier Engineering Information Inc., LAMDA and UnCover : Preliminary results are reported. The conclusion to date is that, in thei r current form, document delivery services cannot be seen as a panacea for resolving the holdings versus access debate.