Physical Delivery or Courier Services
The Moving Mountains Project
The Moving Mountains Project is a web site that is a clearinghouse of resources on physical delivery of materials. It is a collaborative effort of a group of librarians involved in physical delivery. The site includes resources on courier systems, courier companies and suppliers, bibliography and glossary. The best practices section includes sample RFP's, sample cost models, training guides and materials. Speculative pieces on such topics as national library courier, home delivery, and RFID are covered in the section on Future Trends and Innovation. New content is welcome and the site provides ample means for communication with listserv and blog.
The Moving Mountains Project is located at http://www.clicweb.org/movingmountains/
LINK+
Valerie Horton
LINK+ is a wonderful example of a program that makes under-used collections more widely available through a Web-based catalog and delivery service. It is available free of charge to library cardholders at more than 40 libraries in California and Nevada. Many of them are state university libraries, though local libraries are on the roster, too.
Because the LINK+ seach is tied in to the host library's search page, it's simple for a patron to try to find an item once her own library's collection comes up dry. The patron then enters her card info and puts down the location where she wants the item delivered, just as with a typical internal request. The fines are high if you're late or lose an item, but the service is terrific. It's a great source for old books that many libraries don't have the room to hold.
Electronic media are not available, but it's still a pretty great service.
