ILL tips

Interlibrary Loan Tips for CCML Members

from the Library Cooperation Task Force

TIPS #6 (21 NOV 2006)
Temporarily Changing Your Supplier Status

1. DOCLINE
You may temporarily prevent requests from routing to your library for a minimum of 3 days by submitting the form located at http://nnlm.gov/rsdd/docline/dochold.html. To be sure your hold starts at the desired time, please submit it at least 24 hours beforehand.

2. OCLC
In the Policies Directory, under the Unit Tab, you may change the field OCLC Supplier from Yes to No for up to 184 days. Changes must be submitted by midnight Eastern Time to be effective on the following day.

To permanently withdraw from DOCLINE, contact the NN/LM. To permanently withdraw from OCLC, contact your regional service provider (eg, BCR). And, again, remember to removed closed libraries (like COURSE and COUPAH) from your DOCLINE Routing Tables.

TIPS #5 revised (25 SEPT 2006)
Alternate Delivery Methods on DOCLINE

There seems to be some confusion about the new Alternate Delivery Methods on DOCLINE, from both the borrowing and lending sides. A few important things to keep in mind:
    a. Be sure your institutional record is updated both as a borrower and lender for the delivery methods you accept and those that you offer.
    b. If you provide alternate delivery methods as a borrower, be prepared to receive items in ways other than your preferred method. Feel free not to include all options (for example, we've completely eliminated MAIL as a borrowing option).  Some libraries add a comment about wanting articles with photographs mailed. You can always change your preference on an individual request if you occasionally must have an item delivered in a certain way. If you consistently find that you are receiving items via your second or third choice, think about changing your routing table.
    c. As a lender, be sure to read the borrower's request and respect the preferred delivery method. If you cannot fill by a certain method on a regular basis, do not include that method in your institutional record. We have a few libraries who seem to be sending exclusively by mail/courier even when that is not a borrower option.
    d. Also as a lender, be mindful of the quality of a PDF or fax. If there are graphics or photographs that do not reproduce well, it's a good idea to add a note indicating willingness to mail an item. (if you're willing, of course)
    e. If, as a lender, you are filling a request by an alternate delivery method, change the method of delivery when you update the request in "Lend." For example, if PDF is the borrower's first choice and you fill by mail without changing the method to MAIL, the borrower may wonder why the PDF has not been received.
    f. All requests go through each routing table cell, first by the preferred method, then by the alternate methods, before going on to the next cell.

    For a refresher on the new routing algorithms, visit http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/ma06/ma06_docline.html
    For routing FAQs, see http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/doc_new_routing.html.

TIPS #4 (22 APR 2006)
DOCLINE Levels of Service: Normal, Rush and Urgent

Another enhancement to DOCLINE 2.7 is the ability to indicate level of service. There are 3 levels: normal, rush, and urgent patient care.
Normal: The lender has one day to receipt the request and 3 more days to fill it.
Rush: Same-day service
Urgent Patient Care: Processed and shipped immediately

It is important that our Institution Records reflect our actual lending capabilities. For urgent patient care requests, NLM states that "Lenders should have the staffing necessary to frequently monitor DOCLINE for new requests, and must process all Urgent Patient Care requests when received."

For rush requests, "Lenders should have the staffing necessary to frequently monitor DOCLINE for new requests, and must process all Rush Requests by the end of the day."

Many of you undoubtedly followed the controversy over this provision on DOCLINE-L. It's hard to imagine how one could monitor DOCLINE continually enough to meet these requirements across 4 time zones. For many of us who are willing to fill urgent or rush requests, the only realistic requesting method is a phone call. In fact, historically, CCML libraries have had an agreement to call each other for rush requests. The exception to this rule is Denison Library, which prefers that rush requests be faxed to them at 303-315-6255.

Regardless of actual practice, do not check "Fills Urgent Patient Care Requests" or "Fills Rush Requests" in your Institution Record if you cannot meet NLM's requirements. AORN, for example, is happy to fill rush requests when possible, but we have not checked these boxes. We prefer a phone call followed up by a "Normal" confirming DOCLINE request, with a note in the Comments field that it is confirming a phone request and not a new one.

As a borrower, limiting a request to Rush or Urgent limits routing only to those libraries indicating they can provide the service level selected. This practice could conceivably limit your ability to obtain the needed item quickly.

The Library Cooperation Task Force recommends that for rush requests, you determine which local libraries hold a title. (The online Journal Locator is an excellent tool to use in this case). Then call to request the item, and send a prefixed confirming DOCLINE request. You could also uncheck all the cells in your routing table so that the request doesn't get routed if the lender doesn't update in one day. (This is NOT the recommended practice for Normal DOCLINE requests, since it subverts the automatic routing which is DOCLINE's raison d'être.) If you have different preferences as a lender, please indicate them in your Institution Record and inform the borrower.

If no one in CCML owns a title that you need urgently, you may have to check the Rush or Urgent service levels. If that doesn't work, we've all been known to call out-of-state libraries, too, determining holdings in SERHOLD and using the Contact information in Institution Records. (There are obviously other document delivery options, but these are ILL tips.)

TIPS #3 (3 APR 2006)
DOCLINE 2.7 New Features

DOCLINE 2.7, now in effect, is a pretty thoroughgoing overhaul of many DOCLINE features. It's incumbent on all of us who use DOCLINE to read the fact sheets from NLM and make changes accordingly. Please pay special attention to the following documents:

DOCLINE 2.7 Release Notes
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/docline/docline_rel_info_v2_7.html

DOCLINE 2.7 Action Items
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/docline/DOC_2_7_action_items.html

DOCLINE FAQ - New Routing
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/doc_new_routing.html

For this installment of ILL Tips, we've chosen to focus on Multiple Delivery Methods (Otherwise known as Your Wish Has Been Granted).

It used to be that indicating your preferred delivery method was relegated to the Comments field. It is now part of the routing algorithm.

For example:

Let's say I prefer to receive PDFs but will accept TIFF, fax, or mail. I can now change my Institution Record as follows:

Under DOCLINE Options/Borrowing Preferences, I would change my default delivery method to Email PDF.
Under Network Alternate Delivery Methods, I would check Email TIFF, Fax, Mail, Web PDF, and Web TIFF.
I would do the same for NLM. Preferences do not have to be the same for Network Libraries and NLM.

Each of my requests will then route first to libraries supporting my preferred delivery method and then to libraries that deliver via one of the alternate delivery methods. This is true FOR EACH CELL. In other words, if no libraries in Cell 1 can send a PDF of the requested article, the request will stay in Cell 1 and check alternate delivery methods.

This algorithm works for all kinds of requests:
Normal routing
Prefixed and Manual requests (with the exception that holdings are not checked)
Resource Libraries (if "Refer to Resource Libraries" is checked)
NLM (if "Route to NLM" is checked)
"Refer on after NLM" (if this option is checked)

By the way, here's what happens when you select "Refer on after NLM":
The routing algorithm will randomly route a request to a maximum of 20 libraries, first checking Resource Libraries, then Primary Access Libraries, then a list of 4 special libraries--American Hospital Association, American Dental Association, National Agricultural Library, and CISTI (Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information)--and then Other Libraries.

Be sure to save changes to your library's Institution Record, and remove anything in the Comments field about preferred delivery methods.

TIPS #2 (2 MAR 2006)
Updating DOCLINE Institution Record
Updating Serial Holdings

1. Updating DOCLINE Institution Record
    Please be sure that all your information is current and that you have filled out every field. DOCLINE functions optimally only if libraries provide complete and accurate information. To update your institution record, click on the Institutions tab. Review and edit all fields and subfields in the following categories, and be sure to save your changes.
    --Address
    --People
    --Membership
    --Services & Fees
    --DOCLINE Options
    --Loansome Doc (Check "no" if not a LD Provider)

Some of the options in the Institution Record will change with the imminent release of DOCLINE 2.7. We will cover these changes in detail at that time.

2. Updating Serial Holdings
    The other key factor underpinning DOCLINE is keeping your serials holdings up to date. Our ILL survey (conducted in November 2005) indicated that most libraries are updating their holdings at least every 2 years. Ideally, we should be updating each time there is a change in our journal holdings. If holdings are inaccurate, libraries get requests for items they do not own. Especially when that happens, it's a good idea to update on the spot. To update holdings, use the Serial Holdings tab.

    If holdings do not need to be updated, your should review your holdings at least once a year and update the Holdings Last Reviewed Date in the Serial Holdings part of the Membership Section of the Institution Record.

    A very useful component of Serial Holdings is the Reports tab. Here you can view, download, or print your holdings. You can also see which holdings have not been updated within the last year. Especially important is the Level 2 Holdings Report. You don't want any Level 2 holdings. The standard to aim for is Level 3 holdings, which are volume and/or year-specific.

    Note: Since holdings are volume- and year-specific and not issue-specific, if you own only a few issues of a journal in any given year, you might consider omitting that year from your holdings so that requests are not routed to you.

    If you own a title that renumbers its volumes, do not enter the volume number but only the year. We learned that the hard way with Lancet, so that we were getting requests for the 1823 volume 1 instead of the 1981 volume 1!

As always, it's a good idea to make liberal use of the ubiquitous Help screens in DOCLINE. Or feel free to contact me (a far less reliable source).

TIPS #1 (14 FEB 2006)
Daily DOCLINE Access
Overburdened Lenders

1. Daily DOCLINE Access

Participation in DOCLINE assumes that each library will access DOCLINE every day. If your staffing levels do not permit you to do this, please let me know and I will compile a list. There's no stigma attached to this, but it would be helpful to know which libraries are unable to get requests on a daily basis. Borrowers can then set up routing tables accordingly so that requests don't get stalled for a day before going on to the next potential lender.

If you are temporarily unable to access DOCLINE for 3 or more consecutive days, deactivate your LIBID for that period of time by filling out the form located at http://nnlm.gov/libinfo/docline/dochold.html

2. Overburdened Lenders

If you find that you are overburdened by requests from specific libraries, it is perfectly permissible to request that those libraries place you farther down in their routing tables or remove you altogether. You can see your position in other libraries' routing tables by following the instructions located at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/doc_routing_table_list.html