The Use of Facsimile Equipment in an Illinois Library Network

Facsimile is a type of electronic equipment that can send and receive documents over ordinary telephone lines. A facsimile machine converts a document into electrical signals and transmits those signals to a second machine, where the signals are converted into paper copies of the original document. The original may be printed, typed, handwritten or drawn; the copy is an exact duplicate. The Facsimile Transmission Project, which has involved a growing number of Illinois libraries of all types, is described. Costs of various options for requesting and delivering documents are discussed and compared.