Hi,

I too was disappointed at the loss of the information on CRF replies
(particularly CRF/DNF or CRF/ANI) because without it we really are working
in the dark.  We also passed the information on to our readers (eg "The
volume for 1997 is actually numbered 15 but the article you have quoted
does not appear in either the volume you quoted or in v. 15")  Now we
don't know where the request has gone wrong or indeed what has been
checked at the DSC. I did express something of my concern to the BL when I
first discovered this problem several months ago.

In a sense the problem is not moving to the electronic only method of
communication by the BL but the lack of detail that communication
provides.  Perhaps this needs to be expanded?

Neil Dalley
Document Delivery Coordinator
Reading University Library




On Tue, 17 Oct 2000, JI Bradford, University Library Service wrote:

> Dear ILL folk
> 
> We have only just begun using our Billing Account (for reasons I won't 
> bore you with!) so we are only now aware of a problem with the way that 
> BLDSC reply to requests.
> 
> They now only send something back if they reply "Mail" or "Direct".  I 
> am particularly concerned that we don't get soemthing back when they 
> are reporting CRF.  The form they used to send contained useful 
> information about the amount of checking done which often explained why 
> BLDSC couldn't find the item.  We always ask our readers to provide a 
> copy of their source of ref when we get a CRF response.  When they 
> brought it in, we then sent the form back with the ref and it was 
> obvious to BLDSC what they had already done too.  All this is now lost. 
> 
> We had two requests for serial issues returned to us as CRF, full title 
> required.  The full title was on the requests and the serial was listed 
> on COPAC and The London Union List of Serials, but because the title 
> wasn't on whatever database the BLDSC use, these requests were queried. 
> This makes me wonder about the quality of the database which BLDSC are 
> using.
> 
> I expect BLDSC will say that CRF requests are only a small part of the 
> requests they handle and that it would cost them a lot to process them 
> to send back forms etc.  However, for us, sorting out the difficult 
> requests like the CRFs takes a lot of our time and handling them well 
> makes a lot of difference.
> 
> What do othe people think?
> 
> Jean
> ----------------------
> Jean I Bradford, University of Bristol Library
> Serials and Inter Library Document Supply
> University Library,           
> Tyndall Avenue,
> Bristol BS8 1TJ
> Tel: 0117 928 8008 (int. 8008); Fax:0117 925 5334
> [log in to unmask]
> 
> 



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