THE BRITISH LIBRARY LENDING DIVISION IN 1983–84

Abstract

Total demand rose for the first time since 1979–80, by 3.9% to 2,772,000. Foreign demand reached a new peak, the International Loan Service being especially heavily used; more significantly, British demand increased by 4%. The Urgent Action Service, enabling users to telephone and receive a quick response, became established; an option of telefacsimile transmission was added. Telefax was also used for an Urgent Action Service abroad. The pattern of foreign demand changed somewhat; the countries making most use of the service are now Japan, France and Spain. Automated request transmission continued to grow. Retrospective conversion of records of the Division's monograph stock (post‐1979 imprints) to machine‐readable form made good progress, and Lending Division holdings have begun to appear on the regional ISBN union lists. The Keyword Index to Serial Titles continued to grow in size and coverage. The acquisition programme was maintained, nearly two‐thirds of the acquisition budget being spent on serials and over a quarter on monographs; the Division's coverage of ‘grey literature’ was further improved. A radical review of binding and conservation expenditure was started. Surveys included one of serials in order of demand, one of demand and satisfaction, and one of backup libraries. A Geac computer was installed for the Monograph Acquisitions and Records System and a Systime 8780 for the serials system. Retrospective MEDLARS searches increased sharply. Publications continued to be profitable, and plans were made for the interdivisional British Library Publications Sales Unit to be housed at Boston Spa. The Division continues to be involved in discussion on electronic document storage and transmission projects.