Pamela Bluh s presentation built upon the EDI basics discussed by Hurd. Often EDI is thought of incorrectly as a means of altering data. The simple fact is that in EDI, the data is not changed per se, only transferred between two parties. EDI transactions are seen as invisible and are perceived of as mysterious to the uninitiated. In reality, EDI depicts a transaction model with the library acting as the buyer and the vendor as the seller.
Information passes between the two parties without human interaction.
Bluh echoed Hurd s earlier comments about the importance for both players to create a single standardized interface. Most importantly, Bluh examined the likelihood of EDI s implementation within the law library community. In this setting, legal publishers, subscription agents, and integrated library system vendors must actively work together to make EDI successful. In her opinion, legal publishers see no great impetus to pursue EDI research and development as the majority of their customers are not academic law libraries but individual attorneys or small firms. Additionally, EDI has been slow to gain momentum within ILS vendors since most ILS enhancements are both customer and market driven.