A c t i o n f o r L i b r a r i e s — N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 4

OCLC Announces Changes to ILL Pricing

By Ann Schwab
BCR has received notice of several upcoming pricing changes for OCLC ILL services.

Beginning July 1, 2005, pricing for WorldCat Resource Sharing (formerly referred to as the FirstSearch staff view) and ILLiad 7.0 will move to subscription pricing. Transaction pricing for these services will be discontinued.

Subscription pricing provides libraries with unlimited access to OCLC's resource sharing and union list services at a predictable price. OCLC staff believe this will allow you to improve service to your users and confidently plan your budget.

The timeline for the transition to subscription pricing for WorldCat Resource Sharing is as follows:

October 10, 2004
All libraries with a valid OCLC ILL authorization and password will have access to OCLC WorldCat Resource Sharing.

Libraries that have not yet chosen subscription pricing may use WorldCat Resource Sharing on a transaction basis during a grace period (October 10, 2004 - June 30, 2005). During the grace period, the transaction price will be a flat $2.10 per request (product code RSH6701). This flat rate includes unlimited searching and display holdings, as well as the cost to produce the request. During the grace period, libraries using WorldCat Resource Sharing with transaction pricing will continue to pay the IFM administrative fee and receive lending credits.

Until OCLC ends the functionality of Passport for ILL, ILL Web, ILL Micro Enhancer (ILL ME) and ILLiad 6.x software on May 1, 2005, users of these interfaces will see no changes to their transaction billing.

December 2004
ILLiad 7.0 will be released. Libraries using ILLiad 7.0 with transaction pricing will pay a flat $2.10 per request (product code RSH6701). This flat rate will include unlimited searching and display holdings, as well as the cost to produce the request. These libraries will continue to pay the IFM administrative fee and receive lending credits.

May 1, 2005
OCLC will end the functionality of Passport for ILL, ILL Web, ILL ME and ILLiad 6.x software. All libraries will use WorldCat Resource Sharing or ILLiad 7.0.

Libraries that have not yet converted to subscription pricing may continue to pay the flat transaction price of $2.10 per request (product code RSH6701) through June 30, 2005. This flat rate includes unlimited searching and display holdings, as well as the cost to produce the request.

July 1, 2005
Transaction pricing ends. All WorldCat Resource Sharing and ILLiad 7.0 use will be on a subscription basis.

Libraries may move to OCLC ILL subscription pricing at any time. Libraries enrolling in ILL subscription pricing will also see a freeze in their telecommunications charges. To receive an ILL subscription price quote, contact BCR's Regan Harper — rharper@bcr.org, (303) 751-6277, ext. 120, or (800) 397-1552.

If you have any questions about OCLC ILL pricing changes or the end-of-life dates for Passport for ILL, ILL Web, ILL ME and ILLiad 6.x, contact BCR's Ann Schwab — aschwab@bcr.org, (303) 751-6277, ext. 108, or (800) 397-1552 — or Regan Harper (contact information above).

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