Virtual Document Exchange

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Virtual Document Exchange or VDX is an electronic inter-library electronic/online document request management system. It provides users the ability to create and manage document borrowing and lending requests between participating libraries.

Basically, VDX manages all the stages of the inter-library loan process. It is also an efficient way to collect copyright fees for copyright holders such as authors and publishers.

There is an internationally recognized framework for Virtual Document Exchange. It is called ISO ILL Protocols. ILL stands for Inter-Library Loans.

[edit] How Virtual Document Exchange Works

This process is officially called Automediation in VDX language. A request is sent to VDX. This is routed to the requesting library where the VDX software validates the request for the necessary information. This is author, title, date of publication prior to searching the request again. It creates a routing list of libraries that responds and acknowledge they do have the article. This is called ROTA. The request is then validated and has a routing list authorised and transmitted to the first library on the list.

If for some reason, the library cannot lend or process the request, it will be automatically directed to the next library on the routing list. Then the document is forwarded to the requesting library. Throughout the document exchange process, the requesting library can check the status of request at anytime in the process.

[edit] ISO ILL Protocols

Virtual Document Exchange is based on ISO protocols. The protocol is the ISO 10161 protocol. This is the International Standard for ILL that defines the communication protocols for ILL and guarantees that ILL information will communicated across different ILL systems although they reside on different hardware and software.

There is ISO 10160 which determines the terminology that is used for ILL transactions across various document exchange systems.