Lending, reserves, archives definitions

[Chris Zielinski]

[Apologies for cross-posting if you receive this more than once]

Dear All,

Just a few general questions relating to basic definitions:

-What is "lending" in a digital environment? Does the concept mean anything
online? Note that, if you are making a copy, you are not lending.
Personally, I doubt that you can "lend" anything online - but I'm willing to
be persuaded otherwise.

-What about definitions for:

---electronic reserves (relates to lending: again, I suspect that there can
be no such thing as "electronic reserves", in the strict sense)
---electronic archives
---electronic backup (Is there any difference between the two?)

The questions may seem innocuous at first glance, but they have important
ramifications.


CHRIS ZIELINSKI, Secretary General, ALCS
74 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1EF, United Kingdom
Tel: (0044)-(0)171 255 2034 - Fax: (0044)-(0)171 323 0486