[Dtb-talk] re The end of NLS/LOC international interlibrary loan

[Tim Gillett]

The  quote from the NLS letter seems to refer only to digital interlibrary loans, and only at the present time. This would appear to leave open the possibility of digital international interlibrary loans in the future. Can we assume NLS will continue to support international interlibrary   loan of 4 track NLS format titles?

>From my understanding, no large talking book producer, including NLS/LOC, is likely to attempt digital conversion (let alone full formatting to DAISY) of anything like all their analog based titles. The decision to convert or not to convert titles would, I would expect, need to be based on  the costs of conversion versus the expected benefits to readers. The copyright issue as it relates to format conversion  as already mentioned may well be another factor. 

For titles that would not be justified converting to digital or DAISY it would seem a reasonable policy for NLS/LOC to continue interlibrary loans in the  audio format in which the title exists, in this case, LOC analog 4 track.

If so, would it not be easier in such a case as this for the client to obtain, or for ABWA to loan to the client, a standard LOC 4 track/2 track cassette player? That would appear to save both the LOC and the ABWA having to specially convert and format a title solely for the purposes of one international interlibrary loan. The client gets access, which one assumes is the most important factor.

Best wishes, 

Tim Gillett
Audio/Electronics Technician,
Perth
Western Australia