extending INN-Reach to support journal article delivery

INN-Reach has been a very successful product in supporting patron-initiated book requests in consortia systems such as OhioLink and the Orbis Cascade Alliance. Marshall Breeding's Library Technology Guides ran a III press release on the implementation of ArticleReach, which allows journal article requesting, in the NExpress consortium. The release notes that ArticleReach supports both print and electronic delivery. Electronic only-delivery offers the possibility of unmediated article request/delivery from the standpoint of the borrowing site; mediation would have to take place only if the ArticleReach request is passed to the "lender of last resort" described in the release. As a result, patrons should benefit from more rapid document delivery in comparison to existing mediated methods (though that assertion would need to be checked carefully using throughput data).