A c t i o n f o r L i b r a r i e s — D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 3

Libraries Should Prepare Now
for Upcoming OCLC ILL Changes

By Ann Schwab

The OCLC Interlibrary Loan service is in the midst of change. OCLC will continue to support OCLC Passport and ILL Micro Enhancer (ILL ME) software and the ILL Web through at least December 2004. OCLC intends to give libraries approximately three-months' notice before the products final end-of-life date.

What happens then? OCLC ILL is being integrated into the OCLC FirstSearch service. A new feature in FirstSearch allows ILL staff to create requests directly within the FirstSearch interface. This new ILL staff view is OCLC's initial phase of expanding the resource sharing capabilities of FirstSearch. The FirstSearch ILL staff view is activated via the FirstSearch administrative module.

Currently, the ILL staff view lets you:

Use FirstSearch to find materials.
Display holdings and enter lender strings.
Enter shipping and billing information and borrowing notes.
Send requests for materials to the OCLC ILL service.

Anticipated future enhancements are:

Reusable notes
Batch updating
Batch printing
Custom holdings

BCR encourages libraries to review the new FirstSearch ILL staff view. Designate a staff member or two to explore the interface and make recommendations for its implementation. Remember, new functionality will continually be added. While the FirstSearch ILL staff view may not meet your needs right now, the sooner you migrate, the more time you'll have to adjust your work flow before Passport, ILL ME and ILL Web reach their end-of-life dates.

For more information, contact BCR's Ann Schwab (aschwab@bcr.org).

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Libraries Should Prepare Now for Upcoming OCLC ILL Changes

Libraries Should Prepare Now
for Upcoming OCLC ILL Changes