Library Services Assistant Guide

Item found on Discovery or the Internet 

As part of your request checks, you will briefly confirm whether the item is available on Discovery or the open web.

For items available in Discovery: 

1. To search, paste the article title into Discovery. If the University of Suffolk holds it, verify that you can access the full text or PDF via Discovery. If you can, copy the link to the item record in Discovery.
2. Email the student from within the system using the 'KB link available' macro. Ensure to paste the link into the email. 
3. Tag the request with 'Found on Discovery'
4. Cancel the request to close it. 

For items available on the internet: 

1. Search for the title of the resource in Google Scholar. Items can only be considered freely available if a patron can download it without providing any additional information/login details. 
2. Email the student from within the system using the 'Open Access' macro 
3. Tag the request as 'Found on Internet' 
4. Submit the request as 'Open Access' (screenshot below) to close. 

Reviewing for Stock Suggestion

Before submitting any request, you must consider whether it is viable as a stock suggestion. 

Consider the below criteria to determine whether the item should be submitted as a stock suggestion before proceeding to interlibrary loan: 

If proceeding to Interlibrary Loan, continue to step 4. 

If submitting to Stock Suggestion, follow the below guidance: 

1. Complete the Item Request Form, providing the ILL Request number and patron barcode in the notes field. 
2. Add a note to the request (i.e., Item sent to stock suggestion, 25/01/2024). 
3. Mark the item as "Reviewed" in TIPASA
4. The Librarians will review the request within 2 working days. When a decision has been made, the librarian will tag interlibrary@uos.ac.uk in a comment on the spreadsheet; this will automatically trigger an email notification to the ILL inbox.
5. If the Librarian rejects the stock suggestion, add a note to the request (i.e., Stock suggestion rejected, 25/01/2024) and continue to step 4. 
6. If the Librarian accepts the stock suggestion, they will either add the item to DDA, or purchase from one of our suppliers. 

If the item is added to DDA:

1. The resource will be immediately available. The librarian will advise of this and provide the link in the notes section of the spreadsheet.
2. Contact the patron with the "Purchase Request Available" macro within TIPASA. 
3. Add a note to request (i.e. Stock suggestion approved, 25/01/2024)
4. Tag the request with "Stock Suggestion"
5. Close the request by clicking the "Cancel" button 

If the item is purchased via suppliers: 

1. The resource is not immediately available. The librarian is responsible for ensuring the patron is contacted when the item arrives (i.e., by adding delivery note). 
2. Contact the patron with the "Purchase Request Ordered" macro within TIPASA. 
3. Add a note to request (i.e. Stock suggestion approved, 25/01/2024)
4. Tag the request with "Stock Suggestion"
5. Close the request by clicking the "Cancel" button. 

Submitting Request

When requests are submitted to us, the system will automatically try to match the bibliographic details to an appropriate OCLC record. When this happens, automations have been configured to: 

• Construct and apply a lender string of all appropriate OCLC lenders for the format type 
• Apply constant data

Proceed to step 4. 

If a request has not matched to an OCLC record

Complete standard bibliographic checks (manually matching to an OCLC record) and proceed with the steps below. 

• Click the "View Holdings" hyperlink where the item OCLC number is listed. N.B. This will not appear if the holding information is incomplete; use the magnifying glass to find and apply completed holding information to the record. 
• For digital copies: Add "COPY" to the drop-down box next to the  "Custom Holdings Path" filter, add the year the article was published and click "Go". This will retrieve all OCLC lenders who supply digital copies in line with our specifications. 

• For print loans: Add "LOAN" to the drop-down box next to the "Custom Holdings Path" filter and click "Go". This will retrieve all OCLC lenders who supply print loans in line with our specifications. 
• Compose the lender string. To do this, click the hyperlinked "Yes" in the listing (supplier column) and click the blue "Update Request" button. 
• Apply the appropriate constant data template (i.e. ARTICLE for article requests, BOOK for book requests, EBOOK for eBook requests). 
• Specify Electronic Delivery preferences as below (if required) 
• Submit the request. 

The request will now be sent to each lender in the order they were composed in the lender string. 

Conditional Response From Lender

Lenders will occasionally reply to resource requests with 'Conditionals'. This will often be to do with our currency settings or if further information is required. 

1. Identify conditional responses by navigating to the 'Produced Queue'.
2. Click on any items with a status of 'Conditional' and read the notes at the very top of the page. Identify what the lending library would like us to alter about our request and action accordingly. 
3. Click 'Yes' or 'No' to accept the condition after actioning. If you click 'Yes' the current supplier will proceed with supplying the request. If you select 'No', the request should proceed to the next supplier.  

Request Fulfilled (OCLC Lender) 

Copies

Copies will be received via one of three methods: 

• Article Exchange 
• British Library SED
• Email 

Article Exchange, as described below, is a document drop facility for ILL documents. It allows you (and other lending libraries) to upload files for pick-up by library users anywhere in the world. Only persons with the correct URL and password combination will be able to download the file. Once a document has been uploaded, it is available for 30 days.

To supply an article via article exchange:

Where requests are received via Article Exchange from OCLC lenders, the system will automatically email the student and receive the item. No action is required. 

To supply an article via British Library SED / Delivered via Email:

British Library SEDs are delivered to the interlibrary inbox; other libraries may choose to deliver copes via email. Proceed as follows: 

1. Download the document and save it under the request number. 
2. Navigate to the request in WMS, it should be showing as 'In Transit' at this stage.
3. Click the 'Article Exchange' hyperlink to upload the document to WMS and click 'Drop'. 
4. WMS will supply you with a link and password. Save the request form. 
5. Mark the item as received. 
6. The student will be automatically contacted using the 'Article Available in Article Exchange' email macro. 

Loans

1. Open the request in WMS, it should be showing as 'In Transit' at this stage. 
2. Ensure the date of receipt listed is correct. 
3. Click the check box immediately to the right of the date to specify that you wish to print a book strap. 
4. Scroll down and ensure the patron barcode is correct (a temporary record will only be automatically created if the complete patron barcode matches the ID field). 
5. Click save. 
6. Click receive. The patron will be sent an automatic collection email (2 hours following) 
7. Check a temporary item has been created by scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking the 'Circulation' dropdown. If it has failed, ensure the patron information is correct and click 'Retry'.
8. Navigate to the print queue and release the book strap to print. Affix the strap to the front of the book, write the due date (five days before the lender's due date). 

To renew a loan: 

See the following guidance. 

To return a loan: 

Loans should be returned 5 days before the lending library's due date. If an item is uncollected, please tag accordingly ("Uncollected"). 

1. Navigate to the request in WMS.
2. Specify the date of return. 
3. Check the 'Print returns label' button 
4. Click 'Return'. This should automatically return the item off the patron account if it was issued.
5. Navigate to the print queue and print return labels.
6. Package the item for return and place in the postage intrays in the back office

Overdue loans: 

Patrons will receive 3 automatic emails, as follows: 

• 3 days before due date - notifying patron of upcoming due date/encouraging return of items 
• 1 day after due date - notifying patron that item is overdue, and should be returned immediately 
• 3 days after due date - notifying patron that item is long overdue and renewal charges will be incurred imminently

LSAs should regularly review the "Received/In Use" queue to identify items approaching their due date. The due date listed is the home library due date. If the item has not been returned by this due date (minus 1 day) proceed as follows: 

1. Request a renewal from the lending library 
2. If renewal accepted, add a £5.00 renewal charge to student/external patron accounts (staff do not incur renewal fees) 
3. Student will be automatically contacted advising them the item has been renewed, and a charge added to their account. 

If the renewal is not accepted, the patron will be automatically notified that the renewal has been rejected. It is encouraged that you also correspond directly with the patron to advise that the item must be returned immediately, or the item may be assumed lost (this can be done via phone if the patron is not responding to emails). 

If an item is renewed on 3 or more occasions without correspondence from the patron, correspond directly with the patron (via phone if necessary) to advise that the item should be returned or further renewals requested or the item could be assumed lost by the lending library. 

Request Unfilled (OCLC Lender) 

If all lenders in the lender string have been automatically asked to supply, and none have agreed to supply, the request will be diverted to an unfulfilled queue. 

If the "Need by" date has been reached:

1. Apply the "Request Unfulfilled - Need By Date Reached" macro and send to the patron 
2. Add the "Unfulfilled - Need by Date" tag 
3. Cancel request 

If the "Need by" date has not been reached: 

You may be able to identify alternative lenders by reviewing the holding information applied to the request. Due to the nature of WorldCat, there may be several records for the same item, and new holdings may appear if you select an alternative bibliographic record (use the magnifying glass to explore potential records). 

If there are no further OCLC lenders: 

Requests from undergraduate students should be cancelled. 

1. Apply the "Request Unfulfilled - End of Workflow" macro and send to patron 
2. Apply the "Unfulfilled - End of Workflow" tag 
3. Cancel request

Requests from postgraduate students and staff should proceed to off-system request (see Step 7) 

Submitting Off-System Requests

Requests should only proceed to off-system if: 

• The request was made by postgraduate student or staff member 
• The request "need by date" has not yet been met. 

If these criteria are met, follow the below steps: 

1. Review bibliographic holdings and identify possible UK lenders.
2. A maximum of three off-system requests will be made for each requestor. Three potential lenders should be identified and recorded in the request notes (note should read as follows: Off System Request; request from supplier 1, supplier 2, supplier 3). Lenders should be selected on the grounds of previous lending success, cost, and anticipated processing time. 
3. Change the fulfilment type to "Off System Request" 
4. Search for the first potential lender. If they are not listed in the system, please search the ILL Policies Directory for lending library information, and notify AN via email (example below). Please include the email address of the interlibrary loan contact in the information provided. Record this in the request notes.
5. Change fulfilment type to off-system request. Add the first lender's details as prompted. Click "submit". 
6. Contact lender using "Can You Supply?" email. 
7. Monitor the ILL inbox for replies. 
8. If the first lender is unable to supply, mark the request as Unfilled and update the notes.  
9. Repeat the process from step 3.

Off-system requests should be made to a maximum of 3 lenders. See step 9.

Recieving Requests (Off System) 

Digital Copy

1. Download the document and save it under the request number. 
2. Navigate to the request in WMS, it should be showing as 'In Transit' at this stage.
3. Click the 'Article Exchange' hyperlink to upload the document to WMS and click 'Drop'. 
4. WMS will supply you with a link and password. Save the request form. 
5. Contact patron manually using "Article Available in Article Exchange" macro. 
6. Mark the item as received. 

Loans

When the item is shipped:

1. We will receive confirmation that lenders are willing to supply a resource via the Interlibrary loan inbox.
2. When confirmation is received, navigate to the request and add the shipped date. 
3. Change the status of the request to "Shipped". 

When the item arrives: 

1. When the item is received, navigate to the request and add the lending library's due date (minus 5 days). 
2. Add the date the item was received. 
3. Add the item barcode (this should be the same as the request number) 
4. Change the request status to "Received" 
5. Email the patron with the "Loan Available for Pickup" macro. 
6. Click the "print" dropdown and add to "Book Strap/Sticker" queue. Print and affix to item. 
7. Create temporary item using barcode (step 3); ensure holding location is set to WS-ILL
8. Place item on hold for patron. 
9. Place item on ILL shelf. If patron collects, the item is issued to account, as per due date specified on book strap. 

To Renew: 

1. Request renewal from lending library via "Renewal Request to Lender" macro. 
2. If renewal accepted, add charge to patron account (not staff), amend due date in request/on patron library account. Contact patron with "Renewal Request Approved" macro. 
3. If renewal denied, contact patron with "Renewal Request Denied" macro. 

To Return: 

1. Item returned 5 days before lender due date. Ensure returned fully off patron account. 
2. Click "Print Now" to print return label and affixed to packaged item. 
3. Add date of return. 
4. Mark as "Returned" 
5. Place item in first-class post in-tray 

If Overdue: 

Patrons with books obtained off-system will not receive automatic emails. 

Off-system items in use should be monitored closely. Patrons should be contacted: 

1. Contact patron 3 days after their due date ("Item overdue - 2nd notice" macro) 
2. If no response is received 6 days after the due date, request a renewal from the lending library and contact the patron with ("Item overdue - 3rd notice" macro). If student/external member, a £5.00 charge will be incurred and should be added to the patron account. 

If the renewal is not accepted, correspond with the patron to advise that the item must be returned immediately, or the item may be assumed lost.

Request Unfilled (Off-System) 

Requests should be cancelled when the "Need By" date is reached, and further action is required. No more than 3 requests should be submitted to off-system lenders.

If the "Need by" date has been reached:

1. Apply the "Request Unfulfilled - Need By Date Reached" macro and send to the patron 
2. Add the "Need by Date Reached" tag 
3. Cancel request 

If request has been made to 3 off-system lenders: 

1. Apply the "Request Unfulfilled - End of Workflow" macro and send to patron 
2. Apply the "Unfulfilled - End of Workflow" tag 
3. Cancel request