Resource Sharing for Groups release notes, February 2025

Administrative actions

These items require immediate action or decisions.

Follow-up actions

In an effort to keep your staff informed of new features and changes, you may also want to consider these items.

Provide library staff members with a new user role for linking patrons

A new user role named WorldShare ILL Patron View User is now available. It provides all the actions included with the WorldShare ILL User role plus the ability to view patron records and link a patron to a request. 

For more information, see Interlibrary Loan roles.

Allow patrons to specify their preference for electronic or print 

New options are now available in OCLC Service Configuration, the patron request form, and the staff interface that allow you to optionally collect and record the patron’s preference for electronic versus print. The value is informational only. It is not used for bibliographic matching, selection of WorldCat records, or selection of copy versus loan as the service type. It also does not impact the format selection (e.g., book).

On the patron request form:

• You may optionally add the new preferred delivery format field. 
• When the field is included on the request form:
  • The patron must select one of the three options: no preference, electronic, physical. 
  • The default value is no preference.
  • When the request is submitted, the selected value is saved with the request.

In the staff interface:

• The preferred delivery format defaults to no preference. If you are creating a request in the staff interface, and you know the patron’s preference, you can select it.
• If the new preferred delivery format is included on the patron request form, the patron’s specified value is selected. 
• Because this field is designed for recording the patron’s preferred format, it is not editable after the request has been submitted to lenders.

The functionality included in this release is a first step toward future improvements to the bibliographic matching process and selection of WorldCat records. With future releases, we plan enhancements that will let your library configure the format preference behavior for your library. For example, you might decide you want the system to continue to use the exact item specified in the request. You might alternatively configure the system to use the patron’s preference when possible or to always enforce a library-specified format. Details for these options are still being researched and developed. 

Choose whether to participate in your group's off-system lending request form

Library groups can optionally set up a request form for lending with off-system partners. 

• Administrative staff at a member library with Tipasa can configure and enable the form in OCLC Service Configuration.
• The form includes a drop-down list of lending libraries. By default, all group member libraries with their OCLC supplier status set to Yes in the OCLC Policies Directory are included in the list.
• Off-system partners use the form to enter details for their request, select a lending library, and submit the request.
• The request is routed to the selected library’s off-system lending queue to be processed much like any other new request. 

Now, your library can opt out from being listed as a lending library on the group's form. To opt out, go to OCLC Service Configuration > WorldShare ILL > Request Forms > Participation in Off-System Request Form. Deselect the option and click Save Changes.

For more information, see Off-system requesting workflow and Off-system lending by request form.

Share off-system partners among the group 

In OCLC Service Configuration, the Address Book lets you create and maintain details about off-system partner institutions for automatic population of the partner's details in your off-system borrowing and lending requests. Partners must be created in the Address Book before they can be used in an off-system request. 

Partners are now shared among all libraries in your group. To view the partner list, go to OCLC Service Configuration > WorldShare ILL > Address Book > Partners tab. A new Created By column indicates the institution that created the partner record. You may utilize all partners in this shared list.

For more information, see Address Book - Partners.

Staff interface being modernized for improved accessibility, usability, and navigation  

In 2025, the OCLC Resource Sharing Team continues the project to modernize the Resource Sharing for Groups staff interface. The modernization does not introduce new functionality but does improve accessibility, usability, and navigation, ensuring clearer organization of information as well as the use of modern components, elements, and behaviors.

Modernized pages are being rolled out and released in a two-phase process. Libraries that participate in the "preview" group see and use the new pages one release prior to other Resource Sharing for Groups libraries.

For future releases, this list will be updated with additional pages.

If your library team is interested in being included in the preview group, please send an email to oclcresourcesharing@oclc.org. 

For more information on the modernization project, please see the updates provided in the Product Insights: Resource Sharing webinars.

Product Insights

To help you become familiar with the new features, enhancements, and improvements included in this release, please attend the upcoming webinar Product Insights: Resource Sharing. The next session will be held in Summer 2025. Please watch for a date and registration to be posted.

OCLC Resource Sharing Conference web series 

The 2025 OCLC Resource Sharing Conference (RSC25) web series begins in March 2025, and the program committee is currently forming the agenda.

You can register now for the first two sessions of RSC25:

• March 5: Advancing resource sharing: OCLC & Atlas Systems’ ongoing commitment to innovation
• March 12: ILL survival guide: Essential tips for new professionals

Please watch the news for details coming soon on additional RSC25 sessions.

Support websites

Support information for this product and related products can be found at:

• WorldShare Interlibrary Loan
• Contact OCLC Support
• OCLC Community Center
• Browser compatibility chart