WorldShare ILL release notes, September 2023

Introduction

This release of WorldShare ILL provides a number of new features and enhancements in addition to several bug fixes. These features will help you manage more complex workflows, including:

For off-system requests, utilize improvements to Days To Respond and printouts

These enhancements are the direct result of your feedback.

Recommended actions

For this release, we recommend that you review the following checklists and complete the relevant tasks so that you can adjust your policies and workflows and train your staff. These checklists identify updates that we have determined as significant for most institutions. We encourage you to review all of the items in the release notes to determine whether there are other items that might require additional action or follow up by your institution.

Administrative actions

These items require immediate action or decisions.

Action
For best performance, it's very important to clear your browser's cache before starting to work with WorldShare ILL!
If you haven't already, enable the OpenURL-based request form for your library's users: Configure and customize the elements of the form to meet your library's needs Utilize OCLC/WMS identity management or IP authorization Provide access to the form from any discovery service Receive and process requests in WorldShare ILL – without having to rekey them Automatically route requests submitted via the form to the automated request manager (ARM) For more information, see the WorldShare ILL release notes, May 2023.
Be sure to utilize Smart fulfillment functionality, including: Real-time availability for ILL, which significantly reduces the number of times you respond “no” and “In use, on loan” Automated Request Manager, which enables you to save time by automating routine ILL workflows Smart lender strings through the Automated Request Manager, which helps you improve fill rates and turnaround times Turnaround Time dashboards and tips to Improve turnaround time
Have your contact information or lending policies changed? If so, please make the appropriate updates in the OCLC Policies Directory.

Follow-up actions

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

Action
Share these release notes with your colleagues.
If you haven't already, visit the new OCLC Community Center for new ways to connect with OCLC and other community members. To make the most of the new community structure: Use your existing Community Center account to sign in. Just click “Sign in” in the upper right corner of the screen. All accounts and subscriptions have been migrated, so when you sign in, you will have access to all your existing posts and continue receiving notifications. Read and agree to the Code of Conduct and Terms of Use. As part of launch, you will be prompted the first time you sign in to read and agree to the new OCLC Online Engagement Code of Conduct and Terms of Use. Visit the WorldShare ILL product community and click Manage subscriptions. We recommend that you subscribe to all boards to be notified of updates in all spaces – new options include Events, Recordings, and Ideas. Visit the new Resource Sharing knowledge community and click Manage subscriptions. We recommend that you subscribe to all boards in this space also to be notified of updates – including newly scheduled Product Insights sessions and general resource sharing news.

Action

Share these release notes with your colleagues.

If you haven't already, visit the new OCLC Community Center for new ways to connect with OCLC and other community members.

To make the most of the new community structure:

Use your existing Community Center account to sign in. Just click “Sign in” in the upper right corner of the screen. All accounts and subscriptions have been migrated, so when you sign in, you will have access to all your existing posts and continue receiving notifications.
Read and agree to the Code of Conduct and Terms of Use. As part of launch, you will be prompted the first time you sign in to read and agree to the new OCLC Online Engagement Code of Conduct and Terms of Use.
Visit the WorldShare ILL product community and click Manage subscriptions. We recommend that you subscribe to all boards to be notified of updates in all spaces – new options include Events, Recordings, and Ideas.
Visit the new Resource Sharing knowledge community and click Manage subscriptions. We recommend that you subscribe to all boards in this space also to be notified of updates – including newly scheduled Product Insights sessions and general resource sharing news.

New features and enhancements

For off-system requests, utilize improvements to Days To Respond and printouts

Previously, the number of Days To Respond for off-system requests was fixed as 8 days for copies and 16 days for loans. Now, the Days To Respond is based on the configuration setting for the partner institution.

To set the Days To Respond, go to OCLC Service Configuration > WorldShare ILL > Address Book > Partners. Select the number of days you would like the request to remain with the partner institution from the drop-down menu.

wsill off system days to respond config.PNG

In addition, printouts have been improved for off-system requests. Book straps, stickers, and one-per-page request printouts now include the reference ID for the requester or supplier for the request at the time it is added to the print queue.

printout requester ref id.PNG

printout supplier ref id.PNG

For more information, see Off-System Requesting.

Bug fixes and known issues

For a full list of current and recently fixed issues, see Known issues.

Important links

Post-release session

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.

Date: Thursday October 26, 2:00pm, Eastern Daylight Time (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC -04:00)
Registration: https://community.oclc.org/t5/resource-sharing-events/product-insights-resource-sharing/ec-p/44129#M4

Please note the session time zones when registering. The sessions will be recorded and archived for future viewing on the OCLC Community Center. Please register, even if you cannot attend, to receive a link to the recorded session.

OCLC Resource Sharing Conference web series

OCLC invites you to view recordings and slides in the community center from the 2023 OCLC Resource Sharing Conference (RSC23) web series. The free, virtual session from RSC23 included:

Some changes are here to stay: Managing resource sharing in the 21st century | Recording and slides
RSC23 Lightning sessions - Conducting interlibrary loan user surveys and Training student employees on ILL processing | Recording and slides
Law, not guidelines: Moving beyond CONTU | Recording and slides
Exceed your library users’ expectations with your ILL services | Recording and slides
Lightning sessions- Resource sharing: an Italian perspective, Resource share the love, and Resource sharing trends survey | Recording and slides
Workshop - Tips to improve staff workflows and users’ experience | Recording and slides

Also, ILL 101 sessions hosted by IDS Project are available at the Online Learning Institute.

Virtual Workshop Series: Learn how to fine-tune your ILL setup

Were you able to join us for all of our Virtual Workshops where we showed how you can optimize your library’s ILL setup and workflows, and save time?

The series included the following topics:

Part 1: Fine-tune your policies and deflections (recording, slides, and checklist available)
Part 2: Construct your custom holdings (recording, slides, and checklist available)
Part 3: Automate your request process (recording, slides, and checklist available)
Part 4: Curate and care for your constant data (recording, slides, and checklist available)
Part 5: Make your usage statistics count (recording, slides, and checklist available)

Support websites

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