STM Press Release on Document Delivery

[kuta@stm-assoc.org]

PRESS RELEASE FROM STM
8 June 2011

STM Association sets out guiding principles for Document Delivery

The International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical
Publishers (STM) today released a statement on document delivery.
In it, STM sets out five guiding principles it believes should be
applied in any consideration of document delivery use and
services. STM publishers welcome constructive discussion on these
principles, and seek participation in wider debates on document
delivery.

With the move to online access, STM journal literature is more
widely available and accessible that in the print journal era.
Publishers offer a wide variety of access mechanisms, including
institutional access, pay-per-view and article rental. Digital
document delivery should be considered a top-up tool for
occasional information provision, according to the STM statement.
More structured and systematic information structure serves
regular use and users.

STM maintain that document delivery should be the exception.
Permitting document delivery through carefully crafted library
exceptions is justified in very limited circumstances. Where
document delivery is undertaken by libraries, STM calls for five
guiding principles to be observed:

1.  The Berne Convention 3-step test must govern any discussion
of copyright exceptions -- including for library supply

2.  Cross-border document deliveries by libraries and other
document suppliers should be governed by arrangements negotiated
directly with publishers or their authorised representatives

3.  Digital document delivery direct to end-users is best
governed and coordinated by rights-holders

4.  Document deliveries to individuals for 'private,
non-commercial use' should be subject to appropriate due
diligence

5.  On-site print document delivery to non-commercial patrons is
a good compromise

STM believes that by following these five principles 'policy
makers can ensure that document delivery will continue in its
role as a flexible and useful access-enabling tool in a system of
scholarly communication that has made more high-quality
information available to more people in more ways than at any
time in human history.'

The statement is available on the STM website at:
http://www.stm-assoc.org/industry-news/stm-statement-on-document-delivery

STM is the leading global trade association for academic and
professional publishers. It has over 110 members in 21 countries
who each year collectively publish nearly 66% of all journal
articles and tens of thousands of monographs and reference works.
STM members include learned societies, university presses,
private companies, new starts and established players. For more
information, visit: www.stm-assoc.org.

Contact: Kim Beadle, STM, beadle@stm-assoc.org or phone +44 1865
339321

Janice E. Kuta
Director of Membership & Marketing
STM - International Association of Scientific, Technical &
Medical Publishers
332 E. 18th Street, #12
New York, New York 10003
E-mail: kuta@stm-assoc.org