Implementing ISO and Odyssey Kyle Banerjee Oregon State Library

Why use Odyssey or ISO? Reduce OCLC charges Decrease staff workload – work faster NOTE that….. ISO has more potential impact on workflow and operating expenses than Odyssey Odyssey is not a replacement for Ariel

What is the ISO ILL protocol? A standard that describes how systems can exchange requests ISO ILL defines how interlibrary loan transactions are conducted and how messages between systems should be coded

More details about ISO Defines what messages are can be exchanged (e.g. initial request for an item, request to renew, overdue notices, etc). ISO defines 21 messages, not all of which will be used for a particular transaction. Defines how these 21 messages – basically, it’s just like a electronic form that’s mailed to another library. It includes information about your library, how much you’re willing to pay, the needed by date, etc. Dictates the order of messages the order in which the messages are send. (e.g. first message is ILL request, second is a notice that the lending library has shipped the book, third is a message that book was received, that the book was returned, checked in by lending library, etc). Order is important because you can’t renew a book that has been turned in – it’s basically like the paper work ISO assumes that borrowing and lending libraries maintain their own records – there’s no centralized database and it’s just like in the physical world.

What is Odyssey? Odyssey allows staff to send and receive documents Odyssey can receive documents from lending libraries and mount them on the web with no staff intervention

Installing ISO ILL and Odyssey There are many steps. You must set up directories, get java installed, and you may need to manually edit some configuration files. You will also need to install the ILLiad Gateway that controls ISO and Odyssey. The order that you do things in is important and you should definitely read all instructions -- the knowledgebase is your friend ( You will need to configure ISO and Odyssey using the Customization manager, but the process is not complicated Do not simply accept the defaults – read the directions for each key and make sure that it is right for your system UseOdysseyProtocolLocally must be “yes”

Challenges Technical headaches (at your own site as well as those at other institutions) Need to configure server and firewalls properly Some functions don’t work at all installations Memory leaks and other miscellaneous problems (documents can fail to be converted from ariel) May require re-evaluation of workflow Identifying which libraries have an item desired Few libraries currently use ISO or Odyssey