Interlibrary Loan

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Manuals, Guides, Documentation, and Policies for Staff - WISCAT ILL Listserv Information
Frequently Asked Questions - Patron-Initiated Interlibrary Loan - ILL Training Documentation
Book Club Kits Available Through Interlibrary Loan - AV Lending Charts & Wisconsin ILL Reply Codes

Manuals, Guides, Documentation, and Policies for Staff

WISCAT (AGent) documentation is accessible online to library staff when logged into WISCAT under a staff account. Content-specific Help is also available from any screen within WISCAT.

Delivery Service Best Practices for Library Staff [2008] - The Delivery Services Advisory Committee developed these guidelines for shipping materials.

ILL Quickstart Overview provides a basic list of steps in the interlibrary loan process.

Managing the WISCAT Public Interface - Instructs staff how to customize the licensed WISCAT public interface for their library by using the Guest user account.

Patron Email Notification - Brief instructions on how a library can set the AGent software to automatically send customized email messages to patrons when an ILL status changes on their requests.

Requesting Materials from Out-of-State Locations - Information, policy and instructions covering the request of materials from out-of-state locations using systems which include OCLC and MINITEX.

Status Browse - Staff use Status Browse in WISCAT (AGent) to manage requests. Borrower and Lender work queues for a library are displayed in the Status Browse screen with requests grouped by current status (Received, Shipped, etc.).

User Accounts - Quickstart Guide - Instructions to add user accounts, create patron categories, and set a maximum number of active ILL requests per patron category.

Wisconsin Interlibrary Loan Guidelines 2005 [PDF version] - These current guidelines address statewide resource sharing policies and best practices.

WISCAT ILL Listserv Information

Wisconsin library staff are encouraged to subscribe to the WISCAT ILL email distribution list. Click on the link below to go to the subcription page.

WISCAT ILL (Interlibrary Loan) Listserv

Frequently Asked Questions

Check here for the latest Interlibrary Loan how-to information.

Interlibrary Loan FAQ and ILL Tips

Patron-Initiated Interlibrary Loan

Libraries may allow their users to create and track their own interlibrary loan requests. It improves service to the end user by affording them faster and more direct access to materials not available at their local library or within their library system. Patron-initiated requesting frees library staff from some of the work currently associated with offering interlibrary loan service to their patrons.

Click here for complete documentation about patron-initiated requesting.

ILL Training Documentation

These annotated PowerPoint programs explain how to create and manage your ILL requests as a borrower and lender.

Add Z39.50 Catalogs to WISCAT Search Resources

Explains how to select newly configured resources in WISCAT to make these catalogs accessible for searching, interlibrary loan requesting, and shelf status checking by the AGent ILL software.

Creating and Responding to Reference Requests using WISCAT AGent

Shows staff how to create a reference request and how the Reference & Loan Library responds to them.

Creating Interlibrary Loan Requests: Returnable (Loan) Requests

Covers the basics of creating requests using AGent ILL software.

Editing the Lender List from Retry and Unfilled Requests

The end of the lender list is not always the end of the request. Learn how to evaluate an unfilled request to see whether to retry it.

How a Request's Lender List is Formed

Discover how AGent automatically forms the Lender List once a request has been created. Explains how the software interacts with the Participant Record, Lending Policy, and holdings for the title. See how the process is different for books than for audiovisual materials.

ILL Administration - Maintaining Your Participant Record

Walk step-by-step through a participant record. This will help you understand how requests are routed and what actions are taken automatically by the software, based on the dates profiled. It also covers updating your Lending Policy so requests for items that you do not lend will not come to your library.

Interlibrary Loan Administration Basics

Learn the basics of managing your interlibrary loan requests using AGent software. Discover the ILL Admin Participant Record. Learn to create requests for your patrons and how to respond to requests received from other libraries. Find out when to use Bookstraps and Shipping Labels.

Interlibrary Loan Administration Request Management (Advanced)

Covers the more advanced statuses encountered when library staff manages ILL requests as a borrower and/or lender in AGent.

Interpreting Request History Information

When request are not filled the patron wants to know why. Learn to "read" the responses correctly.

Managing Interlibrary Loan Requests: Returnable (Loan) Requests

Covers the basics for staff management of borrowing and lending requests using AGent ILL software.

Setting User Preferences in WISCAT

Covers using the "My Preferences" feature to customize the WISCAT interface for library staff and patrons/users. Includes how to edit the bibliographic brief record and full record displays in WISCAT.

User Records in WISCAT

Each library with a current WISCAT license has at least one staff member with User Admin permission. Training covers how to create individual user records for patrons. Creating user records can be of benefit to all WISCAT libraries, not just to those participating in patron-initiated requesting. User records for selected patrons can also save staff time when creating interlibrary loan requests on behalf of those patrons.

Book Club Kits Available Through Interlibrary Loan

Libraries on the ILLWISCAT list were asked if they have collections of books purchased for their book clubs and if so would they be willing to lend the book club "kit" on ILL to other libraries. Those willing to lend submitted a list of the titles, along with the number of books in their "kit." The compiled list (in Excel format) includes a column for the name of the owning library, as well as the name of the WISCATILL site to access if the owning library is not using WISCAT ILL.

Libraries wishing to borrow one of the book club "kits" from the list below should contact the owning library.

If your library has collections of books and is willing to lend them to other libraries, please send a copy of the list (electronic would be appreciated, but a paper copy is acceptable) to Vickie Long. The data will be updated periodically.

Click here to view the Excel list of book club kits held at various Wisconsin libraries..

The link to a similar list of kits found on the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) website is Book Discussion Kits at Wisconsin Libraries

AV Lending Charts and Wisconsin ILL Reply Codes

Interlibrary Loan Reply Codes [PDF format]

AV Lending Chart (Academic & Special libraries) -- by OCLC code [PDF] [Excel] (rev. 8/30/06)

AV Lending Chart (Academic & Special libraries) -- by Library Name [PDF] [Excel] (rev. 8/30/06)

MINITEX AV Lending Chart -- by OCLC code (rev. April 2005)

MINITEX AV Lending Chart -- by Library name (rev. April 2005)

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For questions about this information, contact Terry Wilcox at (608) 224-6163 or toll-free at (888) 542-5543 Ext. 4

Last updated on 6/4/2008 12:28:53 PM