Tipasa 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.

Allow patrons to specify their preference for electronic or print

New options are now available in OCLC Service Configuration, the patron request forms, 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 forms:

• 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. 

Share off-system partners among group members

For Resource Sharing for Groups

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. Entries must be created in the Partners tab before they are able to use the partner in an off-system request. 

Libraries using Resource Sharing for Groups can now share partner records in the Address Book. 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.

Note: This functionality is new for Resource Sharing for Groups and continues to be available for WMS Groups.

For more information, see Address Book - Partners.

Opt out of participation in your group's off-system lending request form

For Resource Sharing for Groups and WMS Groups

Library groups can optionally set up an off-system lending request form that is shared by the group.

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

Now, a member 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.

The lending library list on the group's off-system lending request from now includes only group member libraries that have (1) opted in to the group's lending request form and (2) have their OCLC supplier status set to Yes in the OCLC Policies Directory.

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

New standard patron user reports now available in Microsoft Power BI

With the January 30 release for Analytics, a number of new standard WorldShare Reports became available on the Microsoft Power BI platform. Many additional reports are planned for future releases. As a Tipasa user, you now have access to two new standard patron user reports built on Microsoft Power BI.

For more information, see WorldShare Reports in Power BI release notes, January 2025.

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

In 2025, the OCLC Resource Sharing Team continues the project to modernize the Tipasa 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 Tipasa 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.