Set holds options: Interlibrary (ILL) loan request processing

To allow staff (and patrons, if you choose) to request interlibrary loans:

Note:
If you plan to use OCLC’s ILL Direct Request service and your library is not already an OCLC member, establish an account with Direct Request service to use the Direct-to-Review service. Contact the OCLC regional office.

  1. In the Administration Explorer tree view, open the Parameters folder for the organization, and select the Request tab in the details view.

  2. Double-click ILL options. The ILL Options dialog appears with the Requests tab selected.

    ILL options dialog

  3. To allow ILL requests from Polaris PowerPAC:

    Note:
    For details about PAC processing, see ILL Requests from PAC.

    1. Select the PAC requests Enable checkbox.

      Note:
      When a patron requests a title from remote database (Z39.50) search results and signs in, a message regarding ILL requests appears according to the setting for the patron’s registered branch. The default message is You are about to place an Inter-Library Loan request for an item from a remote library system. If your library charges for Inter-Library Loan requests, your account will be charged accordingly. Do you want to place this request? You can customize and translate the message using Polaris Language Editor (WebAdmin). The message string ID is ILL_TEXT_REQINFO (ILL “product”). For more information about using Polaris Language Editor to customize and translate messages, see the Polaris Language Editor (WebAdmin) Guide, or Language Editor online help.

    2. If you use OCLC and want your staff to review all ILL requests made by patrons before they are sent to OCLC, select the Mediate all checkbox.

    3. Select Apply.

      Important:
      The settings for the patron’s registered branch determine whether the patron can place an ILL request from the PAC. You should also set up remote databases as PAC search targets. See Registering Remote Resource Servers and Editing Messages and Labels.

  4. To allow library staff to create ILL requests in the staff client, select the Staff requests Enable checkbox, and select Apply.

    Note:
    If your library uses Leap and you have enabled ILL requests from either the PAC or staff client (or both), the ILL view is available in the Patron Registration workform in Leap. If ILL requests are not enabled, the ILL view is not available and the Patron Registration workform in Leap does not include this view.

  5. To place limits on ILL requests, select the Restrictions tab, and do the following steps:
    1. If you use OCLC and want your staff to review ILL requests converted from hold requests in the staff client, select the Hold-to-ILL is mediated checkbox. If the checkbox is cleared, the converted ILL requests are automatically sent to OCLC.
    2. To prevent one or more categories of patrons from requesting interlibrary loans, select the checkbox for each appropriate patron code in the Patron codes to exclude list.
    3. In the Need-by box, set the default number of days by which an ILL request should be filled.

    4. In the Held Period box, specify how long an item is held for a patron to pick up before being returned to the lending library. The system takes into account the library’s closed dates and days when calculating this period.

      Note:
      The Held Period setting controls the date that prints on the Polaris ILL hold slip, but it does not automatically change the ILL status.

      Note:
      If your library uses INN-Reach for interlibrary loans and you do not allow patrons to place ILL requests from PAC (see step 3), you can still modify the default Need-by and Held Period settings. For more information about INN-Reach, see Implementing and Using INN-Reach Integration.

    5. (System level only) Choose a block option:

      • Over 2nd level fine amount - The patron is blocked if the money owed is over the 2nd level fine amount set by the patron’s registered branch, and a block message is displayed in PAC.
      • Over [amount] - Select this option and set an amount. The patron is blocked if the money owed is greater than or equal to the amount you specify, and a block message is displayed in PAC. By default, this setting is enabled. The default amount is $0.01, which blocks the request if the patron owes any money at all.
    6. Select Apply.
  6. (OCLC subscribers only) To set up your connection to OCLC’s ILL service, select the OCLC tab, and complete these steps:
    1. Select the Enable OCLC connection checkbox to indicate that interlibrary loan requests are managed through OCLC's ILL Direct Request service.
    2. In the OCLC Symbol box, enter the library mnemonic for the system, library, or branch that has the account with OCLC. Contact OCLC to get this information.
    3. Verify that the Service URL field contains the following URL:

      https://worldcat.org/isoill/request/data/

      The OCLC service URL is the same for all libraries.

    4. In the API Key field, enter your library's OCLC API key. Contact OCLC to get this information.

  7. Select Save.

    Important (OCLC subscribers only):
    The Polaris Application Server handles ILL direct requests to OCLC. If your application server name changes, enter the new Polaris Application Server name in the system-level Request parameter ILL: Computer designated for sending OCLC/ILL direct requests.

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