Learner guide: Introduction to OCLC Interlibrary Loan
Course objectives
This learner guide is part of the Introduction to WorldShare ILL courses. The objectives of the Introduction to WorldShare ILL courses: Get Started and Prepare and plan are to provide an overview of the functionalities available in the service and guide you through the preparation options that speed fulfillment of interlibrary loan requests to save time for your staff and users. Then you learn the basics of creating and managing loan and copy requests.
Course evaluation
After completing the course and course quiz, please take a few moments to complete a brief survey for each course:
OCLC Interlibrary Loan glossary
Would you like to know what all those ILL terminologies mean? Well, find the infomation on the OCLC Interlibrary Loan glossary.
Create ILL staff accounts
If you already use WorldShare Management Services, WorldShare Collection Manager, or WorldShare License Manager, you have an existing OCLC Services account that gives you access to several services in the WorldShare platform. Before you log on for the first time, you will need to work with someone at your institution who has administrative rights to add permissions to your account. Refer to Create a WorldShare ILL account for further information.
OCLC Profile groups
OCLC Profiled groups are groups created by OCLC on behalf of libraries. OCLC Profiled groups are curated lists of libraries that use the OCLC resource sharing network and share common attributes, such as geographic location, membership in an organization, subject matter, or other characteristics. Profiled groups enable more efficient and targeted resource sharing among libraries. Profiled groups help you to identify resource sharing partners. Consider which libraries make your best borrowing and lending partners based on geography, group membership, subject matter, or another attribute.
Prepare and plan
There are a few things you can do to prepare for your use of WorldShare Interlibrary Loan.
For further information, see Get started, where you can find documentation and short video tutorials on this topic and browser compatibility.
OCLC Policies Directory
Add or update your library’s information in the OCLC Policies Directory either as a Borrowing or Lending library. Some key areas to review include Contacts and Policies for copies, loans, and deflections.
Once logged in to WorldShare Interlibrary Loan, click the link from the WorldShare Interlibrary Loan Home screen to go to the OCLC Policies Directory. See Prepare and plan for more information.
Constant data
Maintain administrative settings for WorldShare Interlibrary Loan, such as constant data, in OCLC Service Configuration. Click the link from the WorldShare Interlibrary Loan Home screen to go to OCLC Service Configuration.
Constant data allows you to create data records, including your library’s information, that can be saved and applied to both borrowing and lending requests. Constant data saves you time while creating or answering ILL requests. See Constant Data to find documentation and a short video tutorial on how to create constant data as a Borrower or a Lender.
OCLC Interlibrary Loan Fee Management (IFM)
The OCLC® Interlibrary Loan Fee Management (IFM) allows libraries to reconcile resource sharing charges and payments through their OCLC monthly invoice. See how to configure and manage IFM.
Knowledge Base integration
The knowledge base integration is a setting that allows you to select whether you want the system to look through your WorldCat knowledge base collections, when a patron submits a borrowing request or you process a lending request, to determine whether your library has electronic access to the requested item. When turned on, this setting will cause a link to appear in the Request Details accordion of a borrowing or lending request if the item is held by your library in the WorldCat knowledge base.
Custom holdings
The Custom Holdings feature allows you to pre-select the lending libraries of your preference or your priority borrowing libraries to be applied to your requests. Custom Holdings uses your criteria to automatically populate the lender string on your requests and can be used to set ILL policies as a Lending library. First you create your Custom Holdings Group(s) to select the libraries, then you define your Custom Holdings Path for the group(s).
You can add an OCLC Profiled Group to your custom holdings path after your library joins that group.
Automation options
Automation allows you to pre-define rules for the system to automatically select the best bibliographic record match, apply your constant data with your library's information and apply your custom holdings with your list of preferred lenders according to your criteria. Automation can be configured in the OCLC Service Configuration under Automated Request Manager either to help your library staff or patrons when creating ILL requests. Automation can be configured for staff-initiated or patron-initiated (staff-mediated or unmediated) requests.
Try a self-paced training
Discover items
Learn how to use Basic search, Advanced search, and Expert search when using Discover Items to retrieve item records in WorldShare Interlibrary Loan.
Create ILL loan and copy requests
Once you have worked on the preparations for using WorldShare ILL then you can start searching for items and creating ILL loan and copy requests and updating your requests.
OCLC Community Center
Take advantage of the OCLC Community Center where you can interact with staff at other libraries using WorldShare Interlibrary Loan, learn about updates and training opportunities, and suggest enhancements to the service.
Test your knowledge
Try this quiz: Access Intro WSILL quiz
Supplemental information
The OCLC Support site connects you to our highly skilled support staff and valuable self-serve resources. These include extensive documentation for OCLC’s products and services, helpful troubleshooting instructions, and other materials to answer your questions.
- WorldShare Interlibrary Loan documentation
- WorldShare Interlibrary Loan training - Find this class and additional training content here.
- What’s new with WorldShare Interlibrary Loan? Check the WorldShare Interlibrary Loan release notes.
- WorldShare Interlibrary Loan FAQ & Troubleshooting articles
You’ve made it to the end of the Learner Guide! Allow me to take this opportunity to thank you for attending the Introduction to OCLC Interlibrary Loan class!
We look forward to seeing you in the next class!