Transparent to the User: User-Initiated and Mediated Resource Sharing Services Mary E. Jackson Product Manager, Resource Sharing Northwest ILL & Resource Sharing Conference September 20, 2007

2 Overview of Presentation Provide a high-level overview of the emerging resource sharing environment Use AGent Resource Sharing as an example of the transparency Illustrate how standards are key, but need to be invisible

3 Transparent “A term used to describe computer hardware or software that works so well and is so easy to use that its underlying complexity, or the means by which it performs its work, is invisible to the user.” Microsoft TechNet

4 Transparent to the User Available where ever they are Single search interface One “I need this” button Invisible suppliers Fast, predictable delivery Consistent loan periods, no fees, no rules

5 Emerging Service Model Item not held locally, in use, or perhaps just inconvenient to access Circ. hold placed in one or more shared or virtual catalogs Unfilled request moves seamlessly to mediated environment such as OCLC WorldCat Resource Sharing, Docline, AGent Resource Sharing, etc.

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12 Standards are Key but Must be Invisible Z39.50 for discovery OpenURL for discovery SIP2 for authentication NCIP for interaction between Circulation and ILL ISO ILL for communication with trading partners

13 NCIP NISO Circulation Interchange Protocol ANSI/NISO Z Defines a set of messages between and among computer-based applications to:  Authenticate users  Support direct consortial borrowing  Enable circ. and ILL systems to share information and update requests

14 NCIP does not… Define circulation functions or policies Define the user interface of the circulation or ILL applications Support discovery (i.e., searching) Replace SIP2 – it expands SIP2 functionality

15 CILL Profile Borrowing Circ. Applic. Lending Circ. Applic. Links Item User Links Borrowing ISO ILL User Lending ISO ILL NCIP CILL

16 NCIP Limitations From the Library perspective:  Not all ILS implementations support NCIP  Your trading partners may not have NCIP- enabled system  NCIP may be an optional, and expensive, module that a library needs to purchase  Vendor may not have firm date for release of NCIP-capable module

17 NCIP Limitations From the ILS/ILL vendor perspective:  Many, but not all, vendors support NCIP  Some vendors prefer proprietary solutions  No vendor completely supports all three Profiles: DCB, CILL, Self-Service  Many vendors support some messages in some of the profiles  Testing between vendors can be slow

18 When Inquiring About NCIP Ask Questions of Potential Vendors:  With whom are you testing?  Which roles do you support?  Initiator or Responder  Which profiles do you support?  Self-service, DCB, CILL, Patron Authentication  Which messages do you support as an Initiator and as a Responder?  Which customers are using NCIP in a production environment?

19 Practical Applications Enable libraries of all sizes and types to participate in resource sharing, regardless of their ILL or ILS systems No per-transaction fees A low-cost physical delivery system is a must Geared toward loan requests

20 Practical Applications - 2 Converts some mediated ILL transactions to unmediated circulation transactions  Eliminates record keeping, and thus staff are freed to focus on other tasks and responsibilities  Reduces the cost of a filled transaction from $26.77 to $6.16  Improves lending fill rates from 58% to 85%  Reduces turnaround time from 7.6 to 2.5 calendar days

21 Look for Resource Sharing Tools That Support User-centric focus: easy to use, where they are, etc. One search interface to multiple resources A single “I need this” button Multiple, invisible, and eager suppliers Integrated physical and electronic delivery Consistent loan periods, no fees, no rules Supports mediated (ISO ILL), unmediated (NCIP/SIP2), and blended (NCIP/ISO ILL) services

22 Thank You. Any Questions? Mary E. Jackson Product Manager, Resource Sharing Auto-Graphics, Inc. 909/