Delivery of library services to distance education students: The BIBDEL research project at Dublin City University library

The BIBDEL: Libraries Without Walls Research Project is described. Details are given of two experiments carried out by researchers at Dublin City University Library as part of this project, to investigate the delivery of library services to distance education students. Each experiment examined a different scenario: delivery of library services directly to the home, and delivery via local study centres or libraries. In addition, scanning and file transfer were tested as methods of document delivery. Findings include that the delivery of library services to remote students is feasible using the current industry standard hardware and software. Scanning is also a viable technical option for document delivery, copyright restrictions being the only bar to its use.