Print short loan collections have not, necessarily, always been able to meet the varied needs of different user groups. Part-time students, distance learners and disabled students may find it difficult to reach short loan issue desks at specific times. Measures which might be introduced to help these groups may disadvantage others. The development of an electronic short loan or reserve collection offers more far-reaching solutions to address these problems. Simultaneous access from multiple locations increases document availability and helps those with limited time in the library whilst offering an equal service to all.
Documents are secure from theft and defacement.
An electronic reserve also provides the potential to underpin and lead innovative teaching methods using interactive resources. The ResIDe Electronic Reserve is, therefore, a positive response to the recommendations made by the Follett Report that information technology in the electronic library should be used to alleviate some of the problems faced by university libraries today. 1.3 Project Aims and Objectives. ResIDe sought to address the problems facing traditional short loan collections in todays learning environment by developing supporting infrastructures for an electronic reserve. Though piloted in the FBE, the Project aimed to develop a scaleable and sustainable electronic reserve model with maximum transferability which could easily be used by other UWE faculties and other institutions within the Higher Education community.