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OPAC Statuses, Locations and Circulation Policies

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Learn how to configure the OPAC statuses, locations and circulation policies for WorldCat Discovery libraries using real-time availability.

To access this screen, sign in Service Configuration, open the WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local left navigation, select OPAC Statuses, Locations and Circulation Policies.

(Only applicable for WMS and WorldCat Discovery libraries using real-time availability)

Use this screen to control the display of availability from your local holdings. WorldCat Discovery uses OCLC numbers to link between these services and your catalog. Therefore, OCLC numbers must be present in your local catalog, and must be consistently indexed within your ILS.

If you would like to configure your WorldCat Discovery to search your library catalog using the NISO Z39.50 Protocol, you may also need to map the OCLC number index to an attribute in your Z39.50 server.

Item Availability from OPAC

WorldCat Discovery will attempt to get local item availability information from your local OPAC. For information about how statuses are displayed, see Check item status or location.

The display of local OPAC links in WorldCat Discovery is configured in the Full Text and Open Access Links.

 Note: Some of these fields are not editable at this time. If you feel these are incorrect, contact OCLC Support.

Field Description
Your ILS vendor Your ILS vendor is listed.
Your ILS product/version Your ILS product and version is listed.
How WorldCat Discovery gets item information Shows your selection of whether you want OCLC to scrape the information from the OPAC or use Z39.50.
URL used to search for items in the catalog by OCLC#

The URL for your catalog.

  • For example: http:// olc1.ohiolink.edu/search/o77496353

Click the check box if you do not wish to display holdings and availability information that looks like a duplicate of one already retrieved from the OPAC.
Local OPAC links to online content should display in WorldCat Discovery

Links have been set at a default level. Click the check box if you do not wish to display OPAC links to online content that look like a duplicate of one already retrieved from the OPAC.

The following ILSs interoperate to provide real-time availability:

  • Innovative Interfaces: Millennium, INNOPAC, INN-Reach, Sierra
  • SirsiDynix: Symphony, Unicorn, Horizon, iBistro
  • ExLibris: Voyager, Aleph, Alma, Primo
  • Axiell: OpenGalaxy Plus
  • OCLC: LBS, OLIB
  • Z39.50-only interoperability: Koha
  • WorldShare Management Services (OCLC)

Item availability on search results

This section controls the display of item availability from your local holdings on brief results in WorldCat Discovery.

Determine whether to Display item availability on brief search results, course reserves and browse the shelf (for WMS only). Options include:

  • Automatically: The item availability automatically appears.
  • On demand: To view the item availability per record, click the Check Availability button.
  • Do not display: No item availability displays.

See Physical item availability on electronic resources for more information.

If you have opted to display item availability on search results, determine whether to Display physical item availability on electronic item search results. Options include:

  • Display physical item availability on E-serials
  • Display physical item availability on mass digitized content
  • Display physical item availability on all other electronic content

Determine whether to Display item availability on search results per bibliographic type. Options include:

  • Monograph (default type): Anything that is not in one of the groups below
  • Serial: Leader value of serial, not web-based
  • Article: Leader value of article
  • E-Serial: Leader value of text serial and cataloged as an internet resource. Also Leader value of Computer File and cataloged as an internet resource and serial
  • Mass digitized electronic content: Only assigned to non-article, WorldCat Records with the same original and alternate types before bibliographic matching. Content is defined as mass digitized if one of the following is true:
    • The MARC field 029 has any of the following values:
      • DGCNT
      • CNTNT
      • CNTCOLL
      • DGCOLL 
    • The MARC field 040a has the value as OCLCE

       Note: Central Index articles inherit the item type from the parent journal.  If the representative record of the ISSN associated with the article is a mass-digitized item, the article will also be considered a mass digitized item. 

  • All other electronic content: Any other electronic content such as e-books, e-computer files, e-audio, e-visual materials, websites, and e-maps

Display item availability on detailed records 

Determine whether to display item availability on detailed records.  Wild cards are honored to key multiple locations.

When Associate particular shelving location with course reserves availability is selected, enter the Shelving Location in the provided field. 

Item type configuration

Enter status messages, locations, and preferred status treatments for items from your local OPAC. Also, use this grid to configure fulfillment options for these items.

  • If the item's library location impacts the policies you set for the item, include all locations and statuses.
  • If the location of an item does not impact the policies you set for the item, leave the location cell blank and provide all statuses. The status will be applied to all locations.

Discovery_OPAC_Status_grid.png

Tabs

The OPAC status grid is configured per material type. These material types appear as tabs at the top of the grid.

  • Monographs, etc.
  • Serial
  • Article
  • E-serial
  • Mass digitized items
  • Other e-content

First display local holdings records (LHRs) with option to search the local OPAC for availability

If you are a WMS user or have loaded local holdings records (LHRs) into WorldCat, select this box in order to enable the option to configure links from LHRs in the Full Text and Open Access module.

This setting allows users to view the online links and other data contained in the item's LHR, with an option to search the local OPAC for availability. If no LHR is found, availability is displayed automatically from your local OPAC. For information, see Data sync collections.

 Note: If no custom information is entered by the user, the following default values will be used for each format type:

  • Any status/Any location
  • No status/No location
Using Local Holdings Records (LHRs) for Serial Information

When First display LHR with option to search Local OPAC for availability is selected on the serials tab, the following information from an LHR for serials is displayed:

  • Online links (856)
  • Summary holdings data
  • Call number (852 $k, h, i, m – in this order)

When the LHR is not used or not found, WorldCat Discovery searches the local OPAC for availability information.

When selected on the Serials tab, the First display LHR with option to search Local OPAC for availability is automatically selected on the Article and E-serial tabs. 

Display logic for OPAC columns

For the columns listed, choose which logic to apply when determining what buttons or links should display based on the statuses and locations retrieved from the OPAC for a given item. The table will be reconfigured based on the selections. Base your decision on:

  • The item's status in the library catalog (OPAC)
  • The item's location in the library

Selections can be made for each of the following link types:

  • Local online links
  • Fulfillment for Level 1
  • Fulfillment for Level 4
  • Full text OpenURL

Options for display logic

Selection Behavior
Display option if any statuses allow it Display the fulfillment option(s) if any status allows it, circulating or non-circulating, or a combination of both. Items display with a mix of circulating and non-circulating statuses.
Display option if any circulating statuses allow it Display the fulfillment option(s) if any circulating status allows it. Items appear with only circulating statuses.
Display option only if all circulating statuses allow it Display the fulfillment option(s) only if all circulating statuses allow it. Items appear with only circulating statuses.
Display option only if all statuses allow it Display the fulfillment option(s) only if all statuses allow it, circulating or non-circulating, or a combination of both. Items display with a mix of circulating and non-circulating statuses.

 Note: A circulating status is any status/location row that has a Status treatment defined as "available" or "unavailable".

OPAC status policies

Discovery_OPAC_status_policies.png

  • To add a single row, click the Add row button.
  • To add multiple rows, select the options menu and choose Add 10 rows.
  • Use the Manage fulfillment button to enable fulfillment actions in bulk so they are visible in WorldCat Discovery.
  • To copy the configuration for an item type and paste the settings to another item type for your institution, click Copy to and select an option from the drop-down list. 
    • Caution: This will select all lines and overwrite your existing settings.
  • To edit the row, select the pencil icon next to the desired row. Select the checkmark to save and apply the edits or select the X to cancel. 
  • To edit multiple rows, click the check box next to the rows to be edited in bulk. Select the Edit option in the top menu.
  • To delete a single row, click the trash can icon in the desired row.
  • To delete multiple rows, click the check box next to the rows you would like to remove. Select the options menu and select Delete.
OPAC status grid columns

For each status message, provide the following information:

Field Description
OPAC status message

Item status message that WorldCat Discovery retrieves from your OPAC (e.g., In Process, On Shelf, etc.)

OPAC Status Messages recommended for WMS libraries include:

  • *AVAILABLE*
  • *NOT AVAILABLE*
  • *ON HOLD*
  • *CHECKED OUT*
  • *ON ORDER*

 Note: To represent Any Status, enter an asterisk (*) instead of typing Any Status in the column.
Location

Item shelving location that WorldCat Discovery retrieves from your OPAC (e.g., Main Stacks, Reserves, etc.). You must enter an asterisk on either side of an item shelving location name (e.g., *Reserves*).

 Note: Entering an asterisk on either side of an item shelving location name also functions as a wildcard to include all item shelving locations with that word (e.g., entering *Stacks* in the Location column would include Main Library Stacks, Veterinary Medicine Library Stacks, etc.).
Status treatment

Select the availability status of the OPAC.

Status Definition
available Item(s) available for checkout
unavailable Item(s) not available for checkout (e.g., in use, missing/lost, in repair, etc.)
library use only - available

Item(s) available for in-library use only (e.g., non-circulating items, special collections, etc.)

Library use only items will not display a request button.
library use only - unavailable Item(s) with restrictions for use

 
Local online links Choose whether to display any Online OPAC links that are found in your OPAC (e.g. 856 links) for items with this OPAC Status and Location combination.
Fulfillment for Level 1 For items held by Level 1 (your institution), select the check box when you want to display the Place hold button.
Fulfillment for Level 2 For items held by Level 2 (your consortium or group), select the check box when you want to display the Place hold button.
Fulfillment for Level 3 For items held by Level 3 (your second consortium or group), select the check box when you want to display the Place hold button.
Fulfillment for Level 4 For items held by Level 4 (all WorldCat), select the check box when you want to display a Resource Sharing button for interlibrary loan requests.
Full text OpenURL Choose whether to display the Full text OpenURL resolver for items with this OPAC Status and Location combination. To configure these settings, see Full Text OpenURL Resolvers (outgoing requests).