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Contents Resource Sharing System Overview
Resource Sharing System Overview The Resource Sharing System (RSS) helps you to manage requests from patrons and interlibrary loan/document delivery (ILL/DD) partners using an automated (computerized) system. While there is online documentation to walk you through every task, this booklet is intended to give you a high-level overview of the system’s primary functions, the printed and online reports, and areas that you can customize for your library. RSS automates, manages, and tracks ILL requests from patrons and ILL/DD partners. Patrons can initiate requests via the World Wide Web without staff assistance. Searches for requested material can be made rapidly against your local holdings, your preferred lending partners’ holdings, or any Z39.50 database. And each library can customize their RSS Workstation to meet their special needs. Why is this important? Because
The Resource Sharing System (RSS) allows your library to quickly exchange, track and fill interlibrary loan and document delivery requests at the lowest possible cost. RSS is scalable and can be easily expanded to handle a broad range of performance and capacity requirements. RSS software provides your library staff with the search tools that enable you to verify the shelf status of an item from a remote library. Borrowing requests can be transmitted directly to a lending partner without requiring you to forward the request to a messaging system. The Resource Sharing System is comprised of four major parts.
The RSS Staff Workstation runs on Windows 95 operating system or Windows NT Version 4. Your workstation must have a 486 or Pentium processor with 16 MB RAM for Windows 95 or 32 MB RAM for Windows NT, 30 MB of free space on the hard disk, and connectivity to a LAN or WAN. The Protocol Service automates many ILL functions including:
The patron interface is Web based. Using the WebPAC search tool, patrons can search any local or remote Z39.50 database and initiate a request for any item. Patrons can track the status of their requests using any public Web browser, including Netscape, Internet Explorer, Mosaic and Lynx. Patrons can also initiate requests using Web forms that are included with RSS. These forms can be completely customized by your library. The RSS Staff Workstation provides your library staff with easy-to-use tools for managing all ILL/DD activity. They can mediate requests that are not automatically processed by the server. Tools are available to help your staff manage, track, and mediate requests. From the RSS Staff Workstation, you can:
All transactions on the Resource Sharing System are written to a standard SQL database. Information stored on the RSS database includes:
WebPAC is a completely separate product from the Resource Sharing System and is installed on a UNIX computer. (Future releases of WebPAC will run on Windows NT). Patrons may search a variety of library catalogs and citation databases. WebPAC allows patrons to initiate an ILL request after a successful search. When using RSS in conjunction with WebPAC or a similar Z39.50 WWW gateway, patrons can locate needed material and click the Request button to send a request to the RSS server. The request contains the bibliographic and patron information. The server displays an electronic request form with the bibliographic data already filled in. The patron simply adds his/her personal information, such as name and address, then submits the request. The Resource Sharing System (RSS) is an easy-to-use automated management system that helps you move patron requests through the system very quickly and efficiently. For a jump-start on how to use RSS, just remember the following tips. Borrowing, Lending, and System Modes The RSS Workstation operates in three modes: (1) the Borrowing mode, (2) the Lending mode, and (3) the System mode. As an authorized staff user you can easily switch from one mode to another by right-mouse clicking the mode option button in the lower-right corner. The Mode option on the View menu also allows you to change modes. A keyboard shortcut has also been provided for switching Borrowing and Lending modes: ALT+F7. Be sure to start your work in the correct mode for the tasks you wish to complete. The current mode is displayed in two places: the menu bar and the lower-right corner of the RSS Workstation application. For example, if you need to approve Borrowing requests but you see that the system is in the Lending mode, simply right-mouse click the window corner to change it to Borrowing mode. If you get lost, press F4 to return "home" to the Condition screen. The Condition screen displays the status of all requests as bar graphs in the mode you are in, either the Borrowing or Lending mode. The Menu bar is available from any point of the Resource Sharing System. If you are familiar with the Windows 95 menu bar, you will be comfortable with the RSS Menu bar. Similar to Windows 95, the RSS Menu bar includes File, Edit, View, Options and Help, and drop-down menus for each, which is how you access system commands. If you do not understand what data the system is asking you for or you need further clarification, simply highlight Help from the menu bar. You can choose from the Help Index, Using Help, or Getting Started. The Help Index lists topics you can click on for a definition and steps of the task you’ve selected. Using Help explains the options you have to find, copy, print, view or customize help. Getting Started walks you through the steps for setting up your RSS Workstation. Or you can click the Help button on the toolbar for context-sensitive help. This button has a question mark with an up arrow. This allows you to drag the question mark to the field on which you need help. RSS Helps You Manage the Borrowing Process The Borrowing and Lending processes are really the primary focus of RSS. Every time a patron or staff member initiates a request to borrow an item, RSS captures, stores and tracks the workflow of each request. RSS helps you manage that workflow by enabling you to approve or deny the request, view the details and status of the request, keep statistics and print reports on the requests. Overview of the Borrowing Workflow A typical RSS borrowing workflow (for a loaned item) would move through the statuses as listed below. New A request is received from a library patron, who was authenticated. The librarian runs the New Requests task to update the status to Approved. Approved The RSS server sends a message to the ILL/DD partner and updates the status to Pending. Pending The item remains at this status until a message is received from the ILL/DD partner saying that the request will be filled or until the item is received. Upon receipt of the item, the library staff runs the Receive Materials task. This will update the status to Received. Received The staff will run the Print Wrapper task, which generates a spine wrapper for the item and updates the status to Wrapped. Wrapped The server sends a message to the ILL/DD partner saying that the materials have been received and updates the status to ShouldNotify. ShouldNotify The server sends a message to the patron saying that the item has arrived. The server then updates the status to Available. Available The item remains at this status until the patron returns the item and the librarian updates the status of the item to Pack. Pack The library staff runs the Print Pack Sheets task, which generates packing lists and updates the status to Returned. Returned When the staff ships the items, the server sends a message to the ILL/DD partner saying that the items are being returned and then updates the status to Returned-Sent. Returned-Sent The request will remain at this status until a message is received from the ILL/DD partner saying that the materials have been received. DoneLoan is the final status that completes this workflow. Note: Although this is presented as a typical workflow, exceptions to this workflow can be easily managed by the system. RSS was designed to provide flexible workflow options for moving and tracking requests through the system. The workflow presented represents a typical loan of materials. Procurement of a photocopy is different. You Can Initiate a Borrowing Request from the Staff Workstation The RSS borrowing workflow consists of a combination of mediated and automated events that use status codes to indicate where the request is in the process. RSS has been designed to handle a number of "exceptions" in the workflow, for example, an item being recalled early or a pending request is being cancelled. The following sections will describe how you can easily process all of your borrowing requests. The majority of borrowing requests in RSS will be initiated by patron users from the Web gateway. But, staff users can also insert new requests to RSS directly from the staff workstation.
The General tab contains miscellaneous data on the request, including the date by which the Patron needs his/her request filled and how much he/she will pay to have it filled. The Bibliographic tab contains specific data on the book or article being requested, such as author, title, and ISSN. Complete as many fields as possible. A Search button is included in this tab. It allows you to initiate a broadcast search to locate the item that is being requested. To invoke the broadcast search, just select the Search button. The Correspondents tab contains data on the Local Library Unit, ILL/DD partners, and Lending Sequence that you have assigned to the request. The History tab contains a log of activity for the request including changes in status. The Attachments tab enables you to attach and read other documents or files associated with the request. These might be MARC records, e-mail, text files, etc. The Patron tab holds data on the Patron (customer) who is making the request. Fill in as much information as possible. Note: Requests are normally initiated by end-users (patrons) from a Web-based interface. You Can View Borrowing Requests From the Condition screen, double click on the status you want to view, such as New. The system displays all requests at the status you requested. In the previous example, the system would display a list of all new requests. Then if you want to view details of one specific request, double click on that request from the list of requests. The Request Properties window displays with each tab available for viewing, from General to Attachments and Patron. You Can Approve New Borrowing Requests From the Condition screen double click on the New bar graph. OR click the down arrow of the Task bar to point to New Requests and double click. All new requests from your library patrons will display. Point to the request to approve and click the Approve option button to the right of the Task bar. Note: To approve more than one request at the same time, hold down the Ctrl button and select multiple entries from the list with the mouse. Click the Approve option button. Once you have received the items your patron is borrowing from an ILL/DD partner and you are waiting for the patron to pick up the items, you may want to generate a spine wrapper for each item. Note: If you do not want to generate a wrapper, you must change the status of the request before performing this task. From the Condition screen, click the down arrow of the Task bar to point to and click Print Wrapper. You Can Do A Broadcast Search to Determine Who Owns the Item The RSS system allows the staff user to initiate a broadcast search across multiple lending library catalogs to determine who owns the item. RSS uses the Z39.50 standard to search local and remote catalogs. The holdings information retrieved from the search is available in RSS for the staff to view. The search tool can be invoked when you display a specific request by selecting the Search button on the Bibliographic tab. With every new request that enters RSS, the staff user can easily initiate a broadcast search against your lending partners’ remote databases to determine where the item is available. RSS Helps You Manage the Lending Process Managing your lending requests is the other essential half of RSS. Lending requests are received from your designated borrowing institutions (ILL/DD partners). Each lending transaction is captured, tracked and processed by the staff user. RSS provides tools for tracking, mediating and managing these requests. Most lending requests are created when you receive communication via e-mail or ISO protocol messages from an ILL/DD partner requesting material from your library. Overview of the Lending Workflow The typical lending workflow would move through the statuses as listed below. InProcess The ILL request is received from an ILL/DD partner. The librarian runs the Process New task, which updates the status to WillSupply. WillSupply The RSS server sends a message to the ILL/DD partner and updates the status to ToBePicked. ToBePicked The librarian runs the Print Pick Sheets task, which generates a pick sheet for the item and updates the status to Picking. Picking The library staff retrieves the request item from the shelves and runs the Picked task. Picked The library staff prepares the item for shipping. The RSS server sends a message to the ILL/DD partner informing them that the item is being shipped and then updates the status to Shipped-Sent. Shipped-Sent The item remains at this status until a message is received from the ILL/DD partner saying that the item has been received. Received-Received The item remains at this status until a message is received from the ILL/DD partner saying that the item is being returned. The server then updates the status to Returned-Received. Returned-Received The item remains at this status until the item is received back from the ILL/DD partner. The librarian updates the status to CheckedIn. CheckedIn The server sends a message to the ILL/DD partner informing them that the item has been received back. CheckedIn-Sent is the final status that completes this workflow. You Can Initiate a Lending Request from the RSS Staff Workstation The RSS Staff Workstation enables your staff to create new lending requests.
Simply double click on the status you want to view, such as All Lending. The system displays all requests at the status you requested. To view details of one specific request, double click on that request. The Request Properties window displays with each tab available for viewing, from Patron to Attachments and General. You Can Process New Lending Requests Click the down arrow of the Task bar and point to Process New. OR double click on Process New. All new loan requests from your library will display. Click the Will Supply option button to the right of the Task bar. Note: To approve many requests at once, select the first request and hold down the Ctrl button to select all those to approve. Click the Will Supply option button. Once you have received and approved lending requests, then you may want to generate pick sheets. This sheet is used to pick the item from shelves and should be kept with the item until it is shipped. Note: If you do not want to generate a pick sheet, you must change the status of the request before performing this task. Click the down arrow of the Task bar and point to and click Print Pick Sheet. Patron Empowerment Tools from Your RSS Patrons Can Initiate Their Own Requests Library patrons can now initiate their own interlibrary loan/document delivery requests with bibliographic information captured from a search of any Z39.50 database. Patrons can easily initiate their own requests using WebPAC or by filling out an electronic Web form using any public Web browser (including Netscape, Mosaic, Internet Explorer, or Lynx). Patrons Can Track Their Requests Using the Web Gateway, patrons can check up on the progress of any or all of their requests without requiring staff assistance. Using the Request Status form, the patron supplies an appropriate ID and then views a list of the statuses of all of his/her current requests. Patrons Receive Notifications about their Requests The RSS Server generates printed notices automatically. Electronic notices will be generated if the patron has an e-mail address. Otherwise a printed notice will be generated by running a task at the Workstation and either faxed or mailed to the patron. When you install RSS you will be given four template files that are installed with and used by the Server. These templates are simple text files (.txt) that control the content and layout of the e-mail notifications generated by the Server. The four RSS-generated notices include: Item Available Notice When the staff user updates the status on any request to "received" the RSS server automatically generates a notice for the patron. This notice alerts the patron that the item they requested is available. Item Rejected Notice When the staff user updates the status on any request to "rejected" the RSS server automatically generates a notice for the patron. This notice alerts the patron that the item they have requested has been rejected. Item Recall Notice When the staff user updates the status on any request to "recalled" an electronic notice is sent to the patron informing them of the recall. Item Overdue Notice When the staff user updates the status on
any request to "overdue" the patron is notified about the overdue status
of the item.
How to Set Up Your RSS Workstation The system administrator must set up certain properties of your RSS Workstation before you can manage borrowing or lending requests. This section will step you through each of these tasks. You must tell or define for the system your Staff Users—the names of your approved staff users, and what level of security and functionality each will have. Local Library Units—by setting up your Local Library Unit Profile. These are your local library units, departments, campuses, or other institutional subdivisions. ILL/DD Partners—by defining your ILL/DD Partner Profile. These are the institutions that participate in borrowing and lending activity with your library. Lending Sequences—the order in which the RSS server will send your requests to ILL/DD loan partners. Usually the list is in decreasing probability that the partner will hold the material that is being requested. Report Settings—the journal titles that your patrons request can be standardized by ISSN number so that reporting and statistics of journal titles are assured, even if patrons enter the title incorrectly. Pick Up Location—a list of locations presented to the patron that allows them to identify where they will pick up the item when it arrives. This table identifies the pick up locations and the local library unit assigned to each pick up location. The system administrator, who installs the software, will automatically be added as a new staff user the first time the Workstation is loaded. But he/she must add all other members to the staff user list. This will enable only authorized staff members to use the RSS Management System. Note: The Menu bar is accessible from anywhere in the RSS application. To add a staff member to the staff user list,
The system administrator can change a staff user’s profile when necessary. For example, a user may change his/her name, or you may want to change a user’s preferred task mode and/or user rights. To edit a staff user’s profile, click Options and then click Staff Users. Modify the staff user’s name, their preferred task type, and/or their user rights. When finished, click OK then Close. Note: See "Staff User Security" on the following page for more information on user rights. Remove or Disable a Staff User The system administrator may remove a staff member from the staff user list. To remove a staff user, click Options from the Menu bar, then click Staff Users, point to the user you want to delete, then click the Remove button. The Resource Sharing System logs and tracks staff user activity on the RSS database, creating an audit trail. Therefore staff users who have had activity on the database cannot be deleted. You may, however, disable a user so that he/she can no longer access RSS as a staff user. The system administrator can change a staff user’s level of security and functionality. As stated in the previous sections on how to edit staff user information, the six items below outline exactly what these security levels will authorize a staff member to change. Preferred Task Mode When selected, the staff user will be restricted to one mode of ILL function: either borrowing, lending or system. Edit Users When selected, the staff user has permission to edit other staff users’ profiles. At least one staff user must have this permission. Any Status Select Any Status to allow the staff user to change the status on a request to any other status valid for the mode (Borrow or Lend). Advanced Configuration This feature is not currently implemented. Delete Requests When selected, the staff user can deleted requests from the system. At least one staff user must have this permission. Disable Select to disable the staff user from making any further changes in the RSS software. This function will bar the staff user from making changes, but still maintain their profile for use in the transaction log so you can view their previous changes. How to Create a Local Library Unit Profile The system administrator must set up your library’s Local Library Unit Profiles before any requests can be sent to or received from an ILL/DD partner. This profile defines the local library administrative units, which can be divided by campus, department, or any other institutional subdivision. A minimum of one local unit is required. To set up a local library unit profile,
The system administrator and other authorized staff users may edit a Local Library Unit Profile when necessary. Click Options from the Menu bar, click Local Library Units, then point to the unit you wish to modify and click Edit. The Edit Unit dialog box displays. Modify the appropriate information by typing in corrected or additional data. Then click OK. Or Remove Local Library Units Completely The system administrator and other authorized staff users may delete a Local Library Unit Profile, if no requests are currently assigned to that unit. Click Options, then click Local Library Units. Point to the unit you wish to delete and click Remove, then click OK. You May also Filter the View of Activity for Your Local Library Units You may view ILL transactions for a particular Local Library Unit or Units. Local Library Units share a common database and this option serves as a filter to view ILL activity. Simply click View from the Menu bar, then click Units. The Local Library Units dialog box displays. Select the check boxes to the left of the unit or units you wish to view. Then click OK. Note: You must have at least one unit selected before exiting this dialog. Tips: If you have a large number of units selected but actually wish to view only one or two, you can click the None button to clear the selections and then mark the units again that you wish to view. You may also click the All button to mark all units and then deselect those you do not wish to view by clicking the check box to the left of the unit again to clear the check box. How to Create an ILL/DD Partner Profile The system administrator must first define your library’s ILL/DD partner profiles before you can send to or receive requests from external institutions. Your partners are the institutions who share interlibrary loan activity with your library. This includes institutions your library will be sending borrowing requests to and from which you’ll be receiving lending requests. ILL/DD partners include:
To create an ILL/DD Partner Profile,
To make changes to an ILL/DD Partner Profile, simply click Options from the Menu bar, then click ILL/DD Partners. Point to and click the partner you wish to modify and click the Edit button. The Edit ILL/DD Partners dialog displays. Type the changes in the appropriate fields to modify the partner’s information, then click OK. The Z39.50 setup can be changed at any time. If the partner’s Z39.50 URL changes, make the necessary corrections and re-configure the Z39.50 search attributes by clicking the Discover button. To remove one of your ILL/DD partners from RSS, simply click Options from the Menu bar, then click ILL/DD Partners. Point to the partner you wish to delete and click the Remove button. Then click OK. You Can Switch Modes with a Click To switch between RSS modes, which include Borrowing, Lending, and System mode, right click on the mode displayed (Borrow, Lend, or System) in the window corner, located in the lower-right corner of the screen. Select the mode to which you wish to move and click. OR to switch between Borrowing and Lending, double click on the current mode displayed in the window corner. A keyboard shortcut has also been provided for switching Borrowing and Lending modes: ALT+F7. The Mode option on the View menu also allows you to change modes. Note: The set of tasks will change to reflect the mode that is active. You Can Define Lending Sequences The system administrator must tell the RSS server the preferred order of your library’s lending partners. A lending sequence is a list of your ILL/DD partners. You may define your lending sequence according to the partners most likely to fulfill your requests or the partner who has the largest collection or based on cost. When you submit a request, your server will sequentially contact the partners on this list. If the first partner responds to your request with "Unfilled" (not available) the RSS server will automatically forward the request to the next partner in the lending sequence. The maximum number of partners that you may have on any given lending sequence is 50. If you need more than 50 lending partners for a given sequence, you can split the list and title the first part "Sequence Title A" and the second "Sequence Title B." RSS gives you many options on ordering and editing your lending sequences. You may:
The system administrator can define the standard Journal Title names and ISSN numbers to the RSS system. Statistical reports that calculate journal usage are grouped by ISSN. The form of the title that appears on the report is the one that first appeared on the system. That form can be edited, if incorrect, in the Journal Title update facility on the RSS Workstation. This facility standardizes journal titles by their respective ISSN so that statistics will accurately track journal requests. Click Options from the Menu bar, click Report Settings, then Journal Titles. Within the dialog, you can add and delete ISSN entries as well as edit existing entries You can Define Pick Up Locations Library staff can define a list of pick up locations for RSS. A list of pick up locations may be presented to the patron end user when a request is initiated with the web forms. Each pick up location is associated with a local library unit. A local unit may have several pick up locations. When a request is initiated by the end user using a web browser, the pickup location table is used by the RSS server to determine what local library unit will be assigned to the request. You Can Generate and Customize all Printed Products The Resource Sharing System software includes text files for all of the printed products. These include pick sheets, four different patron notifications, pack sheets and book wrappers. (For a description of each kind of patron notification available with RSS, see the previous section on Patron Empowerment Tools.) All printed products are based on rich text file (RTF) templates. The RTF templates can be modified using any word processing program that supports this format. A list of available merge fields are located in the template titled AllFields.RTF. Reports You Can Use—Statistical and Operational The Resource Sharing System provides:
You can request any of the Resource Sharing System’s fourteen formatted, statistical reports from your workstation at any time. To view or print a statistical report, click View from the Menu bar, then click Reports from the drop-down menu. Click the plus sign for either Borrow or Lend. Then select the report you want by clicking on the report’s name. You may click Print Preview to view your report before printing it, view it, then click Print. Or you may click Print without viewing it first, and the system will immediately send the report to your printer. You Can Easily Export Report Data Statistical reports can be viewed or printed in numeric format (as a
table), and some reports are also available in graphic format (as a bar
graph). These reports can be viewed, printed, or exported in many different
formats. To export report data, click Print Preview, then click the envelope
icon and point to the format to which you want to export your report data.
Formats include:
You Can Customize Reports or Create Crystal Reports RSS enables you to generate custom-made reports that fit your needs. You can easily export data from the RSS database into spreadsheets and word processing files. Because RSS uses the Microsoft Access database, it is compatible with other Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. RSS also provides Crystal Reports, a powerful report-generating tool. Note: You may also export your statistical report to another person’s e-mail address. The RSS Statistical Reports are organized into two groups–Borrowing and Lending. Statistical reports are useful for a variety of purposes, including:
Statistical borrowing reports are organized into three groups.
The full set of statistical reports offer the following data. Copy Request Fill Rate by Patron Category This report is a table of the total number of requests for copies and the number of filled requests for copies from each of the various patron categories. There is a column listing Total Copy Requests, Number Filled, Fill Rate, and Average Number of Days to Fill a Request. Copy Request Fill Rate by Provider This report is a table of the total number of requests for copies and the number of filled requests for copies filled by your ILL/DD partners. For each lending partner, there is a column listing Total Copy Requests, Number Filled, Fill Rate, and Average Number of Days to Fill a Request. Copy Requests by Local Library Unit This report is a summary table for all Local Library Units making requests for copies. The format has columns for Filled Requests, Unfilled Requests, Canceled Requests, and Total Copy Requests. Copy Requests by Method of Receipt/Provider This report gives the total number of copy requests broken down by the lending partner supplying the requested copies and the method of supplying the copies, such as fax, Ariel, or U.S. Postal Service. Copy Requests by Patron Category/Department This report gives the total number of copy requests separated for each department within each patron category. Columns include Filled Requests, Unfilled Requests, Canceled Requests, and Total Copy Requests. Copyright Compliance Statistics This report is a table listing all filled copy requests from each journal. Columns include the ISSN, Journal Title, the Copyright Rule that is being applied, and Totals. Loan Request Fill Rate by Patron Category This report is a table of the total number of requests for books and other borrowed materials and the number of requests filled made by the various patron categories. There is a column listing Total Requests, Number Filled, Fill Rate, and Average Number of Days to Fill a Request. Loan Request Fill Rate by Provider This report is a table of the total number of requests for borrowed materials and the number of filled requests filled by your ILL/DD partners. For each lending partner, there is a column listing Total Requests, Number Filled, Fill Rate, and Average Number of Days to Fill a Request. Loan Requests by Local Library Unit This report is a summary table for all Local Library Units making requests for borrowed materials. The format has columns for Filled Requests, Unfilled Requests, Canceled Requests, and Total Requests. Loan Requests by Method of Receipt/Provider This report gives the total number of requests for borrowed materials broken down by lending partner supplying the requested materials and the method of supplying the materials, such as fax, Ariel, or U.S. Postal Service. Loan Requests by Patron Category/Department This report contains a table with the total number of requests for materials other than copies separated for each department within each patron category. Columns include Filled Requests, Unfilled Requests, Canceled Requests, and Total Requests. Lending Reports You Can Generate Statistical lending reports are organized into two groups–Loan Requests and Copy Requests. These reports offer the following data. Copy Requests Supplied, by Journal This report contains a table summarizing the number of requests for copies of articles from each journal requested during the time period you specify. Columns include ISSN, Journal Title, and the Number of Requested Copies Supplied. Copy Requests, by Requester This report gives the number of copies requested by lending partners. This table lists each of your ILL/DD partners who have requested copies from your library. Columns include Filled Requests, Unfilled Requests, Canceled Requests, and Total Requests. Loan Requests, by Requester This report gives the number of items
loaned to lending partners. This table lists your ILL/DD partners who have
requested loan materials (other than copies) from your library. Columns
include Filled Requests, Unfilled Requests, Canceled Requests, and Total
Requests.
Remember: Reporting tools are available from the Menu bar on the Staff Workstation by clicking View then clicking Reports. The reporting periods of ILL/Document Delivery departments vary widely. The Copyright Compliance Clearinghouse, which most borrowing institutions utilize, is set up for weekly reporting of royalty fees. Some libraries need to supply quarterly reports for state reimbursement programs. Some need to gather statistics for annual reports only. Statistical reports used for collection development purposes may be needed on a widely varying schedule. RSS puts you in control and provides complete flexibility to meet your reporting needs. For all of these reasons, each of the RSS reports can be requested by specifying a date range. For example, you can enter a one-month or twelve-month date range in order to specify a monthly or annual report. Type in 1/1/98 through 3/31/98 for a quarterly report. Note: RSS maintains request fulfillment statistics and historical information on the database of all requests that have reached the Completed state. This is the total number of requests that were closed during the time period you specify because they were classified as Filled, Unfilled, or Canceled. RSS provides online operational reports to track the day-to-day activity of your ILL department. Click the Task bar to display a list of all task-oriented operational reports available in RSS. Operational reports are paired with a point of interaction between the ILL librarian and the RSS system to show the current activity of this task. For Borrowing mode these operational, online reports include:
On the Lending side, the points of interaction between the ILL Librarian and the RSS system include:
You can also view system reports on your RSS installation.
How Can the Resource Sharing System (RSS) help my library? The Resource Sharing System (RSS) is Ameritech’s comprehensive interlibrary loan and document delivery (ILL/DD) system that automates the resource sharing processes used in your library today. RSS has been designed and developed to increase the efficiency and the effectiveness of your library’s entire ILL/DD process. Most ILL/DD modules used by libraries today are either proprietary or incomplete solutions. RSS addresses all aspects of the ILL/DD process, starting from when the patron initiates the borrowing request to fulfillment of the requested information. RSS will centralize your ILL/DD transaction information and streamline your entire ILL/DD process. Will it work with my Horizon system? Dynix system? NOTIS system? Yes to all three questions. RSS is designed to work independently of any one library automation system. In fact, RSS works with any vendor’s library automation system. It is a comprehensive stand-alone system that uses library-industry standards for integration with your local library system and exchanging information on borrowing and lending activity between different library systems. How can the Resource Sharing System work with any library automation system? Standards. Today the RSS product supports the Z39.50 standard for searching and the ISO/ILL (10160/10161) standard for exchanging both borrowing and lending information. The product team will also follow the Z39.69 Patron Information and Z39.70 Circulation Information standards as they evolve and are adopted by the library industry. In any given library, the ILL/DD process involves so many different lending partners and information suppliers that without standards any ILL/DD automation system or module would fail to meet the needs of your library. Additionally, the growth of ILL/DD in the library industry will continue to overwhelm the existing ILL/DD modules that are available today. The Resource Sharing System development team and Ameritech are committed to developing standards-driven, non-proprietary systems. How does Ameritech know so much about ILL/DD and what the library industry needs? RSS has been designed and developed for over two years. An advisory committee, including ten of our customers, and Mary Jackson, Director of the North American ILL and Document Delivery project (NAILDD), has been consulted and questioned about the ILL/DD needs of the library community from the beginning of the project. Through a series of meetings, frequent surveys, and routine question and answer sessions, Ameritech has completed exhaustive research to understand what the ILL/DD problems are today and how to best meet those needs. Isn’t the Resource Sharing System a rewrite of the old PACLoan offering that never really worked anyway? No. PACLoan was a module that was developed to meet the needs of the NOTIS LMS user community only. From PACLoan, we have learned that proprietary modules will not solve the ILL/DD problems of the library industry. We were very ambitious when we developed the PACLoan product, however, it never lived up to its promise. And, to be quite honest, we failed to really understand the needs to the ILL community at the time. Through that experience we learned that we needed to do more research and to intimately understand the essence of ILL/DD. That is why we established an advisory group, visited numerous libraries, conducted several surveys, and have taken great care in developing a comprehensive Resource Sharing System. How does Ameritech’s Resource Sharing System help my staff with the borrowing process or lending process? RSS processes, manages and tracks both the borrowing and lending transactions of your library. As a borrowing request is submitted to the system, a record of that request is created in a central database. Every other action associated with that request is captured, stored, and tracked in the Resource Sharing System. When your library is lending information to another institution, the Resource Sharing System will capture, process and track the fulfillment information. Can my patrons use the Resource Sharing System? How? Yes. At the core of the Resource Sharing System’s architecture is the functionality to allow patrons to initiate their own borrowing requests through a Web interface. The patrons can initiate their requests using the WebPAC search tool, Web forms, e-mail, or any system that supports the ISO/ILL standard. When a patron is using a Web-based search tool such as WebPAC, the Resource Sharing System captures the bibliographic information from their successful search. WebPAC is the recommended Web interface for the Resource Sharing System. Patrons can also track the status of all of their borrowing requests through a Web interface. The patron interface is accessible from any public web browser. Can the Resource Sharing System notify patrons when their requested information is available? Yes. In addition to empowering patrons to initiate their own requests, the Resource Sharing System will automatically notify patrons of the receipt of their requested information. It can also be used to let patrons know what options and information formats are available, and at what cost. Does the Resource Sharing System work with OCLC’s ILL System? If I purchase RSS, will I still need OCLC? Today, RSS is a complementary system to the OCLC ILL System. Ameritech’s Resource Sharing System can be used to collect, manage and forward borrowing requests from patrons directly to OCLC. This functionality allows your entire borrowing process to start with the patron-initiated request and be captured in a central ILL/DD repository. The Resource Sharing System provides staff users with tools to perform "multi-site" searching against lending partners’ remote catalogs to determine if the item is available (on the shelf) before you send a request to them. OCLC’s ILL services will primarily be used for the small percentage of items that are difficult to locate and fill outside of your resource sharing group. We feel strongly that as the Z39.50 and ISO/ILL standards are used in more libraries, more of your borrowing requests will go directly to your existing lending partners or new partner libraries eliminating the need to rely on the OCLC ILL messaging system. Is there broadcast searching in RSS? The RSS system allows the staff user to initiate a broadcast search across multiple lending library catalogs to determine who owns the item. RSS uses the Z39.50 standard to search local and remote catalogs. The holdings information retrieved from the search is available in RSS for the staff to view. The RSS broadcast search tool is always available by selecting the Search button from the Bibliographic tab of the Request Properties window. With every new request that enters RSS, the staff user can easily initiate a broadcast search against your lending partners’ remote databases to determine where the item is available. The staff user will be able to determine the best provider from the results set, and build a lending sequence. A subsequent release of the RSS server will allow the library to optionally configure the system to automatically select and search the best providers using algorithms and the fulfillment statistics on your ILL/DD database. How does the ILL/DD staff use the Resource Sharing System? RSS was designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of both borrowing and lending transactions. And, as many industry studies have shown, 70 to 80% of the costs associated with a filled ILL transaction may be attributed to staff costs. RSS makes the ILL/DD process more efficient by reducing the amount of time that your library staff spends fulfilling ILL/DD requests. The first step in achieving this goal is to automate the patron initiation, tracking, and notification process. We heard from the library community that they wanted to reduce the amount of time that they spend manually entering patron ILL/DD request information. By automating the patron tracking and notification process, RSS empowers the patrons to take responsibility for knowing when the information they requested will be available, and in what form. Our goal is to allow the library staff to determine how much or how little they would like to be involved in the entire ILL/DD process. Because of the sweeping changes we feel this system could bring to your own ILL process, we want the library to determine how and when they should mediate ILL/DD requests. How will the ILL/DD staff interact with the Resource Sharing System? The library ILL/DD staff will use the Resource Sharing System to help them facilitate all stages of their ILL/DD operation. Accepting and reviewing ILL/DD requests from patrons, searching for fulfillment sources for the requested information, capturing and storing information concerning their fulfillment of lending transactions, tracking current ILL/DD activity, and printing status and activity reports are all part of the ILL/DD operations for which the library staff will use RSS. The RSS Staff Workstation also includes tools for broadcast searching remote catalogs. How will the Resource Sharing System work with a DRA or SIRSI system? The Resource Sharing System is a stand-alone product that interfaces with other vendor’s systems through industry-standard communications and messaging protocols. RSS can accept borrowing requests from patrons using an ISO/ILL-compliant module developed by a DRA, SIRSI, or any other library automation system. RSS will also forward requests to any ILL server that supports e-mail and ISO/ILL 10161. How does the Resource Sharing System differ from another library automation vendor’s ILL/DD module? The Resource Sharing System is designed to accept borrowing requests from any library automation system and to search any Z39.50 source to retrieve information. Many of the library automation vendors have developed proprietary ILL/DD modules to complement their systems. Their approach limits your ability to efficiently fulfill borrowing requests from systems other than their own. How will the Resource Sharing System handle document delivery requests? Through the Z39.50 protocol, the Resource Sharing System will be able to search your preferred lending partners’ library holdings, union catalogs, and commercial document supplier databases. The information returned from the commercial document supplier’s databases would be stored in the Resource Sharing System and available for you to forward to your patron. How much testing has gone into the development of the Resource Sharing System? From the beginning the Resource Sharing System was developed with a very focused and dedicated team of senior-level programmers. This development approach has resulted in products with a small number of system errors or bugs. In addition to the development approach, RSS has undergone extensive in-house quality assurance testing and beta testing. We are very confident that the Resource Sharing System is stable. Can the Resource Sharing System have geographic or grouping search capability? Yes. You can define the profiles of your preferred lending partners within the Resource Sharing System. Through a hierarchy-based system, the most efficient and effective lenders of information can be queried before less efficient and effective lenders. This ensures that time or distance does not delay your information request. What database does the RSS use? The Resource Sharing System installs with the Microsoft Access run-time drivers. Can I use my Sybase SQL Server for the Resource Sharing System? Yes. The Resource Sharing System uses ODBC drivers to exchange information with the SQL database. As long as you have the proper ODBC drivers for your SQL server, you can substitute any ODBC- compliant database. Can I share one copy of the Resource Sharing System server with multiple sites? Yes. However, response time and efficiency will be impacted as the network becomes larger and more complex. In the past, many libraries have centralized their ILL/DD operations. This structure made sense, especially when keeping statistics was usually a manual effort, when dedicated terminals were at a premium, and when branch libraries did not have the staff to train and devote to a non-central activity. Today, computers are less expensive, access has proliferated with campus networking, and speed of delivery has become increasingly important. Decentralization is becoming the preferred approach for managing a large volume of requests campus-wide. Will I be able to search Z39.50 databases to determine if my library owns the item, or if the item is available from any of my lending libraries? The RSS Staff Workstation includes tools for your library staff to perform broadcast searches against any Z39.50 database to determine if the item is available (holdings information). The search wizard allows staff users to identify one or more libraries to search in order to determine who owns the item. The search results include holdings information (item level detail that includes the shelf status, if the item is checked out, when it is due, etc.). The search results can be used to identify item availability before a request is sent to a lending library. RSS supports industry standards and Z39.50 is the industry standard for searching. RSS searches remote catalogs and determines if the item is available before sending a request to a lending library. RSS can perform a "broadcast search" to search the virtual Union Catalog. The search results alert the staff "what library owns the item" and if the item status is available for lending from that library. Is there a direct interface with OCLC’s ILL System? The RSS system can transmit borrowing requests directly to the OCLC ILL System review file. OCLC must be set up on your RSS system as an ILL/DD partner with the correct connection information. Requests are transmitted to OCLC via the ISO/ILL 10161 protocol. OCLC supports only two services of the protocol. Ameritech as implemented all 22 services of the protocol. |
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