Abstract
Examined in this article is the hypothesis that it is now technologically and economically feasible to move the content of documents electronically among nodes of a library network rather than the documents themselves or photocopies thereof. Comparisons are made on the basis of response-to-request time, quality of reproduced copy and cost factors. The conclusion is reached that electronic interlibrary resource-sharing networks are ideally suited to situations where there are high frequency occurrences of internode requests for information contained in serials, where nodal separation distances do not exceed a few tens of miles and where copy is in six-point type or larger. A three-node network is examined in detail. Specifications for each element of the network are given, with emphasis placed on a highly critical element, the bound-document scanner. The results of an economic study of interlibrary electronic networks are also presented.
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