Search Policies Directory
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Search the Policies Directory
You can search by any combination of criteria (you are not required to search by institution or group). For example, you can search for all OCLC suppliers that support rush handling in California and bill with OCLC IFM.
WorldCat registry data is updated within 2 hours. If you change any data in the WorldCat registry, users searching the Policies Directory will not see the changed data until after a two-hour delay.
Institution or group
Choose the type of search from the Search By list, then type the corresponding name of the institution or group or the symbol of the institution or group.
| Search by | Description | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Name (Institution or Group) |
The name of the institution or group |
Due to the variety of abbreviations used in names, wildcards are recommended when searching by name. For example, Ohio State univ* |
| Institution Symbol |
The three-five character OCLC symbol of the institution |
Only exact matches are retrieved. Searching for ORE results in ORE, not VOREL, OREVE, FORES, etc. |
| Group Symbol |
The four-character OCLC symbol of the OCLC-profiled group |
Search guidelines
Search phrases are case-insensitive. Articles and most punctuation are ignored. Special characters (such as (and &) are treated as spaces.
Wildcard characters
- ? matches any single character
- matches zero or more characters
Search strings that do not contain wildcards search for that string anywhere within the result (not just a result that begins with that string).
How to search
Note: The options in steps 3 and 4 do not apply to group name searches.
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
|
1 |
From the Search By list, choose what you want to search for (institution symbol or name, group symbol or name). Note: Symbol searches retrieve exact matches only. If a group symbol is found, all its members are listed on the search results screen. |
|
2 |
Type the name or symbol of the institution or group (based on your choice in step 1). |
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3 |
Geography. (Country; State (USA)/province (Australia, Canada); City) Institution Types. Each library can choose a single type to describe itself. OCLC Supplier. Libraries that lend using the OCLC ILL system. Days To Respond. Number of days needed to respond to a request (4, 8, 12, 16 or 20) Rush Supported. Libraries that will expedite requests. Note: Rush handling often costs more than normal handling. International Lender. Libraries that lend to countries other than their own. Group Affiliation. To limit search by group, the group must be profiled by OCLC. Refer to OCLC profiled groups for more information. Note: These options do not apply to group name searches. |
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4 |
Policy Information options. Fee. Limit search by fee charged. The search will return institutions with policies that indicate a fee of less than or equal to the search amount. Must be numeric. Currency. Specify the currency defined in the policy. Format. Limit search by material type or physical manifestation of the item. Request Method. Limit search by request method (means by which ILL requests are accepted by the library). Delivery Method. Limit search by delivery method (service used or means by which items are delivered to a library). Billing Method. Limit search by billing method (service used or means by which a library will request payment for ILL transactions). Note: These options do not apply to group name searches. |
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5 |
Click the Search button. Click Reset to clear all data you entered. |
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6 |
The Search Results screen displays. Note: The maximum number of search results is 5000. |
Search options
Note: Group searches use only the Name/Symbol field. The other search fields apply to institution searches.
- Search options - Table
-
Field Description Search By (institution symbol or name, group symbol or name)
Determines which type of search results which will display
Note: This is a required field. Symbol searches retrieve exact matches only. If a group symbol is found, all its members are listed on the search results screen.
Name/Symbol
Search for a specific institution, based on Search by selection
Geography
(Country; State (USA)/province (Australia, Canada); City)
Institution Types Type of library, self identified by the institution OCLC Supplier Libraries that lend using the OCLC ILL system. Days to Respond Number of days needed to respond to a request (4, 8, 12, 16 or 20) Rush Supported Libraries that will expedite requests. Note: Rush handling often costs more than normal handling. International Lender Libraries that lend to countries other than their own. Group Affiliation To limit search by group, the group must be profiled by OCLC. Refer to OCLC profiled groups for more information. Fee Limit search by fee charged. The search will return institutions with policies that indicate a fee of less than or equal to the search amount. Must be numeric.
Currency Specify the currency defined in the policy. Format Limit search by material type or physical manifestation of the item. Request Method Limit search by request method (means by which ILL requests are accepted by the library). Delivery Method Limit search by delivery method (service used or means by which items are delivered to a library). Billing Method Limit search by billing method (service used or means by which a library will request payment for ILL transactions).
Search Results
This screen lists any matches from a search, up to 5000. Search results display as follows.
Hourly update of WorldCat registry data
Fields marked with an asterisk (*) in the Profile Information section contain data from the WorldCat registry. The Policies Directory updates this data on an hourly basis. If you change any data in the WorldCat registry, users searching the Policies Directory will not see the changed data until after the hourly update.
Display symbols
Search results screens that list institution symbols have a Display Symbols button (above and below the search results table) that displays all retrieved institution symbols in a window from which you can copy them.
Symbol search results
| Search | Type of matching | Kind of search result displayed | Display symbols on search results screen? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Institution Symbol |
Exact match (one result or nothing |
Institution profile displays, if found |
No |
|
Group Symbol |
If group found, all symbols of group members displayed |
Yes |
Name search results
| Search | Type of matching | Actions | Display symbols on search results screen? |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Institution Name |
List of results |
Click Institution name to display profile |
No |
|
Group name |
List of results |
In the Institutions column, click the number to display all symbols of group members |
Yes (if number in institution column has been clicked) |
Return to tabs from search results
To return to the Profile tab (and the other tabs), click the institution name in the upper right corner of the screen.