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Lending Requests workflow

Discover the steps and options for working with Lending Requests in Resource Sharing for Groups.

Lending request detail

To view lending request details, click on the title or request ID of the item within a lending queue.

Request Details

The Request Details accordion contains information about the request. This includes details about the borrowing library, important dates and item bibliographic information.

 Notes: 

  • Visible fields will change depending on the Status and Type of lending request.
  • The format of dates and times displays in the interface based on the information about your institution contained in the WorldCat Registry. Dates and times will display to library staff in your institution's time zone and preferred format.
Campo Descripción Constant Data field?
Status The status of the lending request. This field will automatically update as the request is processed by the lending library. New lending requests displays as Submitted.  
Type

Indicates the type of request (Copy or Loan). Use the drop-down to change a request to Copy or Loan.

 
Source The system from which the request was generated.  
OCLC OCLC Number, a unique identifier assigned to WorldCat Records.  
Lenders The lending symbols of all institutions included in the borrower's lending string. The lending library's symbol is noted with an asterisk (*).  
URL Type For copy requests. Used to indicate how the link will be supplied.  
URL For copy requests. This is populated when an article is attached to the request.  
Prestatario Borrowing institution.  
Max Cost Maximum cost the borrower will pay for an item.  
Need Before Date by which the borrower wants to receive the item.  
Requested on Date the item was requested.  
Fecha de vencimiento For loan requests, the borrower's desired due date. This field can be edited by the lender and must be supplied in order for a request to be confirmed.
Renewals The number of times the item has been renewed.  
New Due Date When a loaned item has been renewed, the new due date displays. This field can be edited by the lending library before approving the renewal.  
Renewal Requested When a renewal request has been made for a loaned item, the date of the request displays, if specified.  
Shipped Date Date that a loaned item was shipped or a copy was provided. This field can be edited by the lender when the request is in review.
Received Date Date that the loaned item was received by the borrowing library.  
Return Date Date that the time was returned to the lending library.  
Borrowing Notes Notes from the borrower to the lending library.  
Item bibliographic details This section contains bibliographic information describing the item.  
Local ID

Any local identifier number (for example, a call number or barcode number). This field may be edited by the lending library while the request is in review. 

  • Field is limited to 500 characters.
 

 

Borrowing Information

The Borrowing Information accordion contains information supplied by the borrower for the lender.

Campo Descripción
Ship to information Borrower's ship to information.
Electronic Delivery information Borrower's preferred electronic delivery method.
Bill to information Borrower's billing information.
Lending Information

The Lending Information accordion contains information about the lender's terms for loaning material. This information can be edited by the lender before the request is processed.

Campo Descripción Constant Data field?
Use ILL Fee Management (IFM) Check this box to use ILL Fee Management (IFM).
Lending Charges

All costs: handling, photocopying, postage, etc., in country currency. Numeric data only. Type 0.00 if there are no charges.

To accept a Borrower's IFM offer, enter a numeric value, and check the IFM check box.

Insurance Amount

The amount of insurance, if applicable.

Lending Notes Notes from the lending library regarding the terms of the loan.  
Lending Restrictions

Restrictions that apply to loans.

Example:
Library use only.

Return Via

A preferred method for returning loaned materials.

Return To and address fields

Complete return mailing address.

  • If you include a Due Date, you must supply a return address.
  • If you type N/A, you need not complete this field.
Request History

The Request History accordion provides details about the history of the lending request.

 Note: The format of dates and times displays in the interface based on the information about your institution contained in the WorldCat Registry. Dates and times will display to library staff in your institution's time zone and preferred format.

Campo Descripción
ILL Fee Management (IFM) History Log of charges, refunds and error messages related to Interlibrary Loan Fee Management activity, if IFM has been used for the request.
Event History Indicates if the Article Exchange access URL and Password were updated automatically by Article Exchange following document upload. Also indicates if Article Exchange automatically updated the request status to Shipped for copies or Complete for Document Delivery requests.

Staff Notes 

Request History

The Staff Notes tab allows you to keep notes that are viewable and searchable only by your library staff. Staff Notes can be added to active and closed requests. The number on the tab indicates how many Staff Notes currently exist for a particular request.

Edit and add Staff Notes

All staff users within an institution can add, edit and delete notes. Any staff member may edit any existing notes. The original author displays in the left column with the most recently-edited-by user name appearing just below the note.

 Note: Only staff with the WorldShare ILL Admin role will be able to see the name of the author of the staff notes.  Staff with the WorldShare ILL User role will see a date and time stamp for when the note was created/updated along with the name of the library.  

The most recently added note will display at the top of the Staff Notes tab. Edited notes display based on the updated date and time.

Add a Staff Note

 Note: There can be up to 500 notes per request.

  1. From the request, select Note from the Actions panel.
  2. Add the text of your note to the Add Staff Note text box.
    • There is a 500 character limit for each note.
  3. Click Add.
    • To remove any text added to the Add Staff Note box, click Cancel.

Edit a Staff Note

  1. From the request, click on the Staff Notes tab.
  2. Next to the desired Staff Note, click on the button.
  3. Select Edit.
  4. Make the desired edits in the text box.
  5. Click Update to save your changes.

A message appears confirming the note successfully saved.

Delete a Staff Note

 Caution: Deleted notes are not retrievable.

  1. From the request, click on the Staff Notes tab.
  2. Next to the desired Staff Note, click on the drop-down.
  3. Select Delete.
  4. A message appears asking you to confirm deletion of the Staff Note.
  5. Click Delete.

A message appears confirming the Staff Note has been deleted.

Búsqueda de solicitudes

You can search for Active and Closed Requests from the home screen. To learn more, see Search for requests.

Edit Lending Requests

To edit fields on a lending request:

  1. Open a lending request.
  2. Edit any desired fields by typing in the box provided.
  3. Optional. To locate citation information, search for Article title or Title using the "Search Google Scholar", "Search Google Books", or "Search Google" links located to the right of these fields.
  4. Click Save. A confirmation message appears and the request is updated.

Respond to requests

View local holdings and availability for lending requests

If your library has enabled local holdings and availability, lending requests will display local holdings information for items held by your institution.

  • If you are a WMS library, please see OPAC integration for more information about enabling this feature.
  • If you are an Alma or Sierra library, please contact OCLC Support to discuss enabling this feature.

Real-time availability

Real-time availability enables the system to automatically respond No to lending requests that have an OPAC status of unavailable. This allows the requests to move through the lender string more quickly. 

Lending requests for items that are not available will not appear in your request queue. Requests that the system has automatically said No to will use the reason for no of No - System checked availability.

 Notes: 

  • Applies to Loan requests.
  • If the OPAC status of the item is anything other than unavailable, or if the OPAC status cannot be returned, the automatic Reason for No will not be applied.
  • No - System checked availability is not available for manual selection, but it will appear in the OCLC Usage Statistics, Report Designer, and Request History.
    • Borrowers will see this Reason for No if the request is sent to a library using WorldShare ILL or Tipasa that is utilizing availability and the item status is unavailable.

Does my library have Real-time availability?

WMS libraries and libraries that subscribe to WorldCat Discovery Premium are configured for Real-time availability.

For all other institutions, complete this real-time availability questionnaire. For more information, contact oclcresourcesharing@oclc.org.

Single Holding

When a single holding is found, the Local ID and Local Holdings fields of the request are updated with the holdings information supplied by your OPAC. The Local Holdings fields include:

  • Branch
  • Shelving Location
  • Call Number
  • Holdings Source
    • Holdings Source will be listed as OPAC.
  • Availability Status
    • Tipasa checks Availability once when the request is first sent to your library's symbol in the lender string. If you need to check the Availability status manually, you can click Search my library's online catalog.

The Local ID field is populated with the Branch, Shelving Location and Call Number information. This field appears on book straps and stickers for lending requests.

Multiple Holdings

When multiple holdings are returned by your OPAC, the View All Local Holdings link will appear. The View All Local Holdings screen will show each instance of holdings for the requested item.

multiple_holdings_tipasa.png

Select which holding to use and click the Apply button. The information for the selected holdings will appear in the Local ID and Local Holdings fields and will be saved with the request.

select_multiple_holdings_tipasa.png

Request item from remote branch

When a requested item is held at a remote branch, you can send an email to the branch requesting the item be sent to the ILL department.

To request an item from a remote branch via email:

  1. On the left navigation, under Lending Requests, click Can You Supply?.
  2. On the Can You Supply? screen, click the request ID or Title to display the result.
  3. On the Request Details accordion, under Local Holdings, click View All Local Holdings. The View All Local Holdings screen will show each instance of holdings for the requested item.
  4. Select a remote holding and click Apply. The information for the selected holdings will appear in the Local ID and Local Holdings fields and will be saved with the request.
  5. At the top of the request, under Actions, click Email.
  6. On the Send Message window:
    1. If you have created a template for emails to your branch locations, select the template from the Choose a template drop-down list. All fields, with the exception of the To Email field, will populate with your template information.  See Custom notifications for information about creating email templates.
    2. In the To Email field, select an email address from the drop-down list or enter an email address. See Address Book, Branches for information about configuring commonly used email addresses.
  7. Click Send.

Respond Yes to a Loan Request

Follow the instructions below to respond yes to a loan request.

tipasa_respond_yes.png

To respond yes to a loan request:

 Note: To prevent additional responses to a request from other lending institutions, respond Yes to the request prior to shipping the item.

  1. On the left navigation, under Lending Requests, click Can You Supply?.
    • Note: Request queues where batch processing is available include a batch icon (batch_icon.png) in the left navigation.
  2. On the Can You Supply? screen, click the request ID or Title to display the request.
  3. In the request, review and confirm the information in the Request Details accordion.
  4. From the Apply constant data list at the top of the screen, select your constant data for loans.
    • Note: When a different Constant Data is applied to a request, the fields are briefly highlighted in green as a visual indicator of the change. Data in a field of a constant data record will always overwrite the value shown in the request.
  5. Review the information in the Borrowing Information accordion.
    • Note: Click the information icon (information_icon.png) next to the Borrower's symbol to view their profile in the Policies Directory.
  6. Review the information in the Lending Information accordion.
  7. In the Request Details accordion, confirm the Due Date.
  8. (Optional) Enter a Local ID. The Local ID can be any local identifier number (for example, a call number or barcode number).
  9. At the top of the screen, click Save.
  10. (Optional) Select any printing options. For more information, see Printing.
  11. To respond yes to the request, click Yes.

     Note:  If you have specified an ILL or IFM charge for the item you are lending, you will receive an alert if your charges exceed the maximum cost set by the borrower. If you click Update on the alert to proceed and update the status to Shipped, you are agreeing to the Borrower’s terms, which include their maximum cost and method of processing that payment. If you click Cancel, you have the option to respond no or conditionally to the request.

A confirmation message appears and the request appears under the category Lending Requests > Supplied > Shipped/In Transit.

For copy requests, see Respond Yes to a Copy Request.

Respond No to Requests as a Lender

If you have received a lending request and cannot supply the borrower with the item, follow the instructions below to respond no to the request.

tipasa_respond_no.png

To respond no to a request:

  1. On the left navigation, under Lending Requests, click Can You Supply?.
  2. On the Can You Supply? screen, click the request ID or Title to display the request.
  3. In the request, review and confirm the information in the Request Details accordion.
  4. Review and confirm the information in the Borrowing Information accordion.
  5. To respond no to the request, click No.
  6. Optional. Click the down arrow to select a reason for saying no.
  7. A confirmation message appears, and the request goes to the next Lender in the lender string.

You can optionally choose to include a reason why you are responding No to the lending request. For more information, see Reasons for No.

Other options for responding to a request

Respond Conditionally to a Request

If you have received a request, but need more information to decide whether you can fulfill it, you can respond conditionally.

tipasa_respond_conditional.png

To respond conditionally to a request:

  1. On the left navigation, under Lending Requests, click Can You Supply?.
  2. On the Can You Supply? screen, click the request ID or Title to display the request.
  3. In the request, review and confirm the information in the Request Details accordion.
  4. In the Borrowing Information accordion, confirm the delivery and payment information.
  5. To respond conditionally to the request, click Conditional.
  6. Optional. Click the down arrow to select a reason for the conditional.
  7. On the Send Conditional window, enter any additional information you want to send to the Borrower, if needed. This may include asking the borrower to change their max cost or allow the use of IFM. 
  8. Click Send Response.
  9. A confirmation message appears and the request is returned to the Borrowing library. If the conditions are accepted, the request appears on the left navigation under Lending Requests > Can You Supply? Conditions Accepted.
Respond a Renewal Request

Follow the instructions below to respond to a renewal request.

tipasa_respond_renewal.png

To respond to a renewal request:

  1. On the left navigation, under Lending Requests, click Supplied > Renewal Requested.
  2. On the Renewal Requested screen, click the request ID or Title to display the request.
  3. In the request, review and confirm the information in the Request Details accordion. Note the Borrower's desired Due Date and Renewal Requested date (if applicable).
  4. If you are willing to grant the renewal, edit the Due Date to reflect the new due date you wish to give.
  5. Click an action:
    • Accept Renewal to accept the request
    • Deny Renewal to reject the request
    • Recall item to request the return of an item
  6. A confirmation message appears and the request appears on the left navigation under Supplied > Received/In Use.

Use batch processing to respond Yes or No in a batch

  1. Navigate to Lending Requests > Can You Supply? in the left navigation bar.
  2. At the top of the next screen, click Yes or No next to Batch respond to "Can You Supply" items The screen refreshes to include the additional batch processing fields.
  3. Optional.
    • If Yes, click any desired print options and Apply constant data if necessary.  Note: If a request ages out before you respond "Yes" and moves to another potential lender, any Constant Data you applied is removed from the request.
    • If No, Choose a Reason for No from the drop-down list.  Note: This Reason for No applies to all requests that you process as No.
  4. In the Request ID field, manually enter a request ID number, scan a barcode, or click the plus symbol (plus_sign.png) to add a request.
  5. Click Yes or No. A confirmation message appears and the requests are updated.

Complete requests

  1. On the left navigation, under Lending Requests, click Returned > Returned/In Transit.
  2. On the Returned/In Transit screen, click the request ID or Title to display the request. Note: Request queues where batch processing is available include a batch processing icon (batch_icon.png) in the left navigation.
  3. In the request, review and confirm the information in the Request Details accordion.
  4. To complete the request, click Checked-in/Complete.
  5. A confirmation message appears and the request is complete. Note:
    • If the item is marked Not Returned, it appears in the left navigation under Returned > Returned but Missing and ages out of the system after 180 days. See Request Aging for more information.

Deflections

Deflection is a feature that is such a time-saver because Lending libraries will often get requests for items that they do not lend over ILL- usually because their policies or license agreements dictate that certain items cannot be loaned through interlibrary loan. Deflection allows the system to say “no” to these requests on your behalf. It will skip your library in the lender string, and move the request on to the next lender.

Create Deflection Policies

Use the the OCLC Policies Directory to setup your Deflection policies.

Deflection is applied to the lender string to ensure that an unfilled request does not remain in WorldShare Interlibrary Loan or Tipasa as Pending, waiting for potential lenders to manually deny the request.

Deflection is not the same process as filtering. Filtering is a process that chooses lenders based on holdings data and other information from the holdings record before the request is created (produced). It takes place before the lender string is built. The Policies Directory is not involved with this processing.

To create a Deflection policy:

  1. Navigate to the Policies tab from the OCLC Policies Directory.
  2. Click the Add button on the Deflections drop-down.
  3. Enter the following required fields:
    1. Policy Name
    2. Request type. Options include:
      • Copy
      • Loan
      • Copy or Loan
    3. Deflection type. Options include:
      • Enable Real Time Deflection: Choose this option to enable the deflection policy.
      • Enable Real Time Deflection - except when I am last in the lender string: Choose this option to enable the deflection policy except when the institution is the last lender in the lender string.
      • Disable Deflection: Choose this option to disable the deflection. Select one of the above options to enable the deflection at a later time.
  4. Optional. Under Fees section, enter the Borrower maximum cost.
  5. Optional. Under Borrowers section, select the OCLC Group or Custom Holding Group to include in the deflection.
  6. Optional. Under Items, select the Item features for the deflection. Options include:
    • Formats
    • E-License Terms
    • Material Age
  7. Optional. Enter Notes for the deflection.
  8. Click Save.

If the borrower returns to the request after it has been placed, the asterisk indicating the current lender will have moved to the next lender. The Request History will indicate the Reason for No:

  • Auto-Deflection: Format Type
  • Auto-Deflection: Profiled Group (covers profiled groups and Custom Holding Groups)
  • Auto Deflection: Maximum Cost
  • Auto Deflection: Age of Material
  • Auto Deflection: Multiple Reasons
  • Auto Deflection: Request Type

Deflection may be based on the request service type, local holdings, format type, OCLC profiled group membership, Custom Holding Group, maximum cost, E- license terms and material age in years. Exceptions can also be set, based on format type, OCLC profiled group membership, and Custom Holding Group. The default setting is for no deflection policies to be set.

If you have multiple deflections, requests are processed following the hierarchy for deflection listed below.

The hierarchy for deflection 

The order in which deflections are processed is as follows:

  1. Supplier status
  2. LHR 008/20-21
  3. On-order status (WMS Acquisitions)
  4. Deflection policies configured in Policies Directory in the following order:
    1. Service type
    2. Format
    3. Profiled Group
    4. ELicense terms
    5. Custom Holdings Group
    6. Max Cost
    7. Age of Material

Cómo funciona 

A simple scenario for deflection by format would be:

  1. The borrowing library creates a request choosing lenders that appear to be suppliers for the material.
  2. WorldShare Interlibrary Loan or Tipasa searches the first lender's policies in the Policies Directory to see if they will loan that format. For example, the format is "musical score" and the first lender has created a deflection policy to indicate that it does not loan musical scores.
  3. Instead of the lender getting the request as Pending, it skips that lender and automatically deflects to the next lender.
  4. The request moves through the string until it identifies a lender that might supply it.

Deflection exceptions 

If you select Format, OCLC Group (profiled group), or Custom Holding Group as deflection criteria, you cannot select those criteria as exceptions.

Example policy Deflection option(s) selected Exception criteria available
I do not loan e-serials. Format OCLC Group
I do not loan e-serials to profiled group XXXX. Format OCLC Group  
I do not loan to profiled group XXXX. OCLC Group Format
I charge $15. Borrower Maximum Cost Format

OCLC Group
I loan books only. Format 2 OCLC Group
I loan books only.   Format 3

OCLC Group
I only loan to all members of group XXXX.   Format

OCLC Group 4

Issues to note:

  • Filtering impacts the lender string that is created, i.e., a symbol can be excluded from the lender string based on the filter that is applied. Filtering is based on custom holdings paths/groups based on volume and year data in the local holdings record.
  • There are two ways to create this policy. Here all formats are selected for deflection except for “book.” This is a listing of all formats not loaned.
  • No deflection criteria are selected. Service type “loan” with no deflection criteria indicates that no formats are loaned. However, the exception format “book” indicates that only books are loaned.
  • The institution only loans material to a selected profiled group. Choosing the exception eliminates the selection of the (long list of) individual profiled groups

Deflection Includes/Excludes 

When creating deflection policies for your group, you can choose to block or not block certain groups or items. This feature allows your institution to be very specific about what groups and items a deflection policy pertains to, and those that it does not pertain to.

If you want to deflect a group or one or two items, use the Include feature. If you want to deflect everything except a group or one or two items, use the Exclude feature.

Ejemplos 

  • To deflect everything except books, use Exclude and click Book (instead of using Include, where you would have to click all the other formats except Book). This is because when you are making an exception for that format and excluding it from your institution’s deflection policies.
  • My library does not loan DVDs, but I want to allow other libraries in my group to borrow. For this policy, you would Exclude your group, and Include Visual Material –DVD.

Also, choosing two limiters combines both into one policy.

For example: Excluding the format Visual Material – DVD and then selecting a Material Age of Less than: 1 year will deflect only DVDs that are less than one year old.

Screenshot of options in user interface for adding deflections policy information.

On the Deflections screen, a green check mark (green_check.png) indicates that the group or item is included in the deflection (in my library’s policies), meaning that the requests from those groups or for those items will be deflected.  A red X (red_x.png) indicates that the group or item is not included in the deflection.

Run time: 10:54

This video provides an overview on the types of ILL deflections and how you can set up deflections for items your library does not loan through ILL, including supplier status.

 

See also:

Email a copy of a request

Your library can send a formatted email of the request details to any email address using the Email button at the top right of any request screen.

 Note:  When a library sends an email, the email address in the From field will also receive a copy of the email.