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Deflections

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Learn how to deflect requests from knowledge base collections and deflect requests for all electronic items in Tipasa.

For information about using the OCLC Policies Directory, see Policies Directory guide.

Basics of Deflections

Deflection is a feature that is such a time-saver because Lending libraries will often get requests for items that they do not lend over ILL- usually, because their policies or license agreements dictate that certain items cannot be loaned through interlibrary loan. Deflection allows the system to say “no” to these requests on your behalf. It will skip your library in the lender string, and move the request on to the next lender.

Create Deflection Policies

Use the OCLC Policies Directory to setup your Deflection policies. 

Deflection policies can be used to automatically decline a request based on a single factor or a combination of factors. Deflection policies ensure you will not have to manually say no to all requests that your library lending policies prohibit you from fulfilling.

 Cautions: 

  1. Do not create a deflection policy that doesn’t apply to anything because it will apply to everything.
    • If you select Enable Real Time Deflection as your Deflection type and do not define at least one condition in the Items section, your new policy will apply to all incoming lending requests. The system will then automatically say no to a request you might be able to fulfill, and the request will be moved on to the next lender. All deflection policies not defined by borrower, should be defined by Format, E-License Terms, Material Age, Fees charged, or some combination of these fields.
  2. Any library can search and see the name of a custom holding group and the names of your deflection policies in the Policies Directory.
    • We suggest that you do not give your custom holdings groups or deflection policies names that call out your fellow ILL libraries by name. While other libraries can see the names of your policies, they cannot see the OCLC symbols that are part of your custom holding groups or those associated with your deflection policies.
  3. Use the Notes section to communicate additional information to other libraries
    • If you need to communicate to other libraries about a title in your collection or an overall policy, add the information to the Notes section, which will then display immediately below deflection policies.
    • The content of a note will not be read by the system when considering deflections. They are informational only. Ensure that you include match criteria in the deflection policy along with the note. Deflection policies all take an action based on the settings you put in place regarding request type, item format, fees, groups, or some combination of these fields. If you add a note without accompanying deflection match criteria, the system will deflect all requests. 

Deflection is applied to the lender string to ensure that an unfilled request does not remain in WorldShare Interlibrary Loan or Tipasa as Pending, waiting for potential lenders to manually deny the request.

Deflection is not the same process as filtering. Filtering is a process that chooses lenders based on holdings data and other information from the holdings record before the request is created (produced). It takes place before the lender string is built. The Policies Directory is not involved with this processing.

To create a Deflection policy:

  1. Navigate to the Policies tab from the OCLC Policies Directory.
  2. Click the Add button on the Deflections drop-down.
  3. Enter the following required fields:
    1. Policy Name
    2. Request type. Options include:
      • Copy
      • Loan
      • Copy or Loan
    3. Deflection type. Options include:
      • Enable Real Time Deflection: Choose this option to enable the deflection policy.
      • Enable Real Time Deflection - except when I am last in the lender string: Choose this option to enable the deflection policy except when the institution is the last lender in the lender string.
      • Disable Deflection: Choose this option to disable the deflection. Select one of the above options to enable the deflection at a later time.
  4. Optional. Under Fees section, enter the Borrower maximum cost.
  5. Optional. Under Borrowers section, select the OCLC Group or Custom Holding Group to include in the deflection.
  6. Optional. Under Items, select the Item features for the deflection. Options include:
    • Formats
    • E-License Terms
    • Material Age
  7. Optional. Enter Notes for the deflection.
  8. Click Save.

If the borrower returns to the request after it has been placed, the asterisk indicating the current lender will have moved to the next lender. The Request History will indicate the Reason for No:

  • Auto-Deflection: Format Type
  • Auto-Deflection: Profiled Group (covers profiled groups and Custom Holding Groups)
  • Auto Deflection: Maximum Cost
  • Auto Deflection: Age of Material
  • Auto Deflection: Multiple Reasons
  • Auto Deflection: Request Type

Deflection may be based on the request service type, local holdings, format type, OCLC profiled group membership, Custom Holding Group, maximum cost, E- license terms and material age in years. Exceptions can also be set, based on format type, OCLC profiled group membership, and Custom Holding Group. The default setting is for no deflection policies to be set.

If you have multiple deflections, requests are processed following the hierarchy for deflection listed below.

The hierarchy for deflection 

The order in which deflections are processed is as follows:

  1. Supplier status
  2. LHR 008/20-21
  3. On-order status (WMS Acquisitions)
  4. Deflection policies configured in Policies Directory in the following order:
    1. Service type
    2. Format
    3. Profiled Group
    4. ELicense terms
    5. Custom Holdings Group
    6. Max Cost
    7. Age of Material

How it works 

A simple scenario for deflection by format would be:

  1. The borrowing library creates a request choosing lenders that appear to be suppliers for the material.
  2. WorldShare Interlibrary Loan or Tipasa searches the first lender's policies in the Policies Directory to see if they will loan that format. For example, the format is "musical score" and the first lender has created a deflection policy to indicate that it does not loan musical scores.
  3. Instead of the lender getting the request as Pending, it skips that lender and automatically deflects to the next lender.
  4. The request moves through the string until it identifies a lender that might supply it.

Deflection exceptions 

If you select Format, OCLC Group (profiled group), or Custom Holding Group as deflection criteria, you cannot select those criteria as exceptions.

Example policy Deflection option(s) selected Exception criteria available
I do not loan e-serials. Format OCLC Group
I do not loan e-serials to profiled group XXXX. Format OCLC Group  
I do not loan to profiled group XXXX. OCLC Group Format
I charge $15. Borrower Maximum Cost Format

OCLC Group
I loan books only. Format 2 OCLC Group
I loan books only.   Format 3

OCLC Group
I only loan to all members of group XXXX.   Format

OCLC Group 4

Issues to note:

  • Filtering impacts the lender string that is created, i.e., a symbol can be excluded from the lender string based on the filter that is applied. Filtering is based on custom holdings paths/groups based on volume and year data in the local holdings record.
  • There are two ways to create this policy. Here all formats are selected for deflection except for “book.” This is a listing of all formats not loaned.
  • No deflection criteria are selected. Service type “loan” with no deflection criteria indicates that no formats are loaned. However, the exception format “book” indicates that only books are loaned.
  • The institution only loans material to a selected profiled group. Choosing the exception eliminates the selection of the (long list of) individual profiled groups

Deflection Includes/Excludes 

When creating deflection policies for your group, you can choose to block or not block certain groups or items. This feature allows your institution to be very specific about what groups and items a deflection policy pertains to, and those that it does not pertain to.

If you want to deflect a group or one or two items, use the Include feature. If you want to deflect everything except a group or one or two items, use the Exclude feature.

Examples 

  • To deflect everything except books, use Exclude and click Book (instead of using Include, where you would have to click all the other formats except Book). This is because when you are making an exception for that format and excluding it from your institution’s deflection policies.
  • My library does not loan DVDs, but I want to allow other libraries in my group to borrow. For this policy, you would Exclude your group, and Include Visual Material –DVD.

Also, choosing two limiters combines both into one policy.

For example: Excluding the format Visual Material – DVD and then selecting a Material Age of Less than: 1 year will deflect only DVDs that are less than one year old.

Screenshot of options in user interface for adding deflections policy information.

On the Deflections screen, a green check mark (green_check.png) indicates that the group or item is included in the deflection (in my library’s policies), meaning that the requests from those groups or for those items will be deflected.  A red X (red_x.png) indicates that the group or item is not included in the deflection.

Additional example policies for Tipasa

Below are real-world examples of how you could use deflection policies. This list is not exhaustive, and you may be able to combine the fields in different ways to define additional deflection policies.

  • For several of these options, you will first need to create a Custom Holdings Group containing OCLC symbols for institutions that fall into your borrower definition. For more information on how to create a custom holdings group, see Custom Holdings Groups.
Ebook deflection

Based on licensing terms, many libraries are not able to loan ebooks. Create a “No Ebooks” deflection policy to automatically decline requests. The below policy deflects all loan requests for ebooks. 

 Note: This policy can be used to deflect any material type, such as audio-visual materials.

Enter the following settings:

  • Policy Name: No Ebook
  • Request type: Loan
    • You could also make this Copy or Loan if you would not reproduce chapters from the ebook and supply them to borrowing libraries.
  • Deflection type:  Enable Real Time Deflection
  • Items: 
  • Formats: Include
    • E-Audio Book and E-Text.

You do not need to include E-license Terms or Material Age.

Save the policy to begin deflecting ebook requests. 

Deflect requests for items recently added to your collection

Often libraries may decide not to lend items recently acquired by the library so these materials are available for local patrons.

Enter the following settings:

  • Policy Name: No New Items
  • Request type: Loan
  • Deflection type:  Enable Real Time Deflection
    • You may decide to select Enable Real Time Deflection – except when I am last in the lender string, which gives you the opportunity to look at the request before saying no so you can make a case-by-case decision about whether to lend.
  • Items
    • If you want this to apply to all new materials, and you set the request type as Loan, you do not have to select specific item types. Serials will be excluded because you just selected Loan as Request Type.
  • Material Age: From the Less than drop-down, select 1 year. 

Save the policy to begin deflecting. 

Deflect by the defined borrower alone

If you have frequent issues with a particular borrower not returning items on time or returning them in bad condition, you might decide not to lend to that library anymore. If you find this happens with multiple libraries, you can create a single deflection policy so the system automatically says no to all requests from the offending institutions.

Enter the following settings:

  • Policy Name: No Loans
  • Request type: Loan
  • Deflection type:  Enable Real Time Deflection
  • Borrowers 
  • Custom Holding Group: Include. Use the drop-down to select the custom holding group you created with OCLC symbols for all problematic lenders you will not lend to.

Save the policy to begin deflecting. 

Deflect by a combination of the defined borrower and item characteristics

If you have a consortial agreement that requires you to lend audio-visual materials to other consortia members, but your policy for all other libraries is not to lend AV materials, create a deflection policy that allows requests from consortia members but deflects all others.

Enter the following settings:

  • Policy Name: No AV Except Consortia
  • Request type: Loan
  • Deflection type:  Enable Real Time Deflection
  • Borrowers
  • Custom Holding Group: Exclude. Use the drop-down to select the custom holding group that contains the OCLC symbols for all your consortia members. 
  • Items
  • Formats: Include.
    • Sound Recording, Sound Recording – Cassette, Sound Recording – CD, Sound Recording – LP, Visual Material, Visual Material – DVD, Visual Material - VHS

Save the policy to begin deflecting. 

Deflect based on Max Cost​​​

If your institution wishes to discourage libraries from requesting items from you by charging a fee for all items requested, set up a deflection policy that will decline all requests for which the Max Cost entered by the borrowing library is less than the fee you charge for loans.

In the example below, we assume that your policy does not charge for copy requests; only loan requests will be deflected. A separate policy could be created for copies if your fee for copies is different than the fee for loans, or you could create a policy that applies to both copies and loans as the request type.

Enter the following settings:

  • Policy Name: Charge fees for loans
  • Request type: Loan
  • Deflection type:  Enable Real Time Deflection
  • Max Cost: < 10.00

Save the policy to begin deflecting requests based on Max Cost. 

Deflect requests from defined borrowers not willing to pay the fees you charge

If your policy requires that you charge a fee to all libraries for loans and copies, but you do not charge a fee to members of your consortia, you can create a deflection policy to automatically allow fees with a max cost of zero only from your fellow consortia members.

Enter the following settings:

  • Policy Name: Charge Fees to Everyone Except Consortia
  • Request type: Copy or Loan
  • Deflection type:  Enable Real Time Deflection
  • Borrowers
  • Custom Holding Group: Exclude. Use the drop-down to select the custom holding group that contains the OCLC symbols for all of your consortia members. 
  • Fees: Enter the fee you charge for all copy and loan requests.

Save the policy to begin deflecting. 

Deflect requests for defined items if the borrower is not willing to pay the fee you charge

If your ILL policy requires that you charge all borrowers a fee for any AV materials requested, you can create a deflection policy to automatically decline any requests where the borrower’s max cost is less than the fee you charge.

Enter the following settings:

  • Policy Name: Charge Fees for AV
  • Request type: Loan
  • Deflection type:  Enable Real Time Deflection
  • Item
  • Format: Include
    • Sound Recording, Sound Recording – Cassette, Sound Recording – CD, Sound Recording – LP, Visual Material, Visual Material – DVD, Visual Material – VHS
  • Fee: Enter the fee you charge for all AV requests.

Save the policy to begin deflecting. 

Deflecting knowledge base collections

If your library maintains electronic collections through the knowledge base, using Collection Manager, you can set E-License terms related to interlibrary loan per collection. This level of detail allows deflection to be applied based on licensing terms.

Deflecting all electronic items

Setting up deflections for all your electronic resources will stop these ILL requests from arriving to your library and your staff won’t have to go through the manual process of saying no to those requests. The system will automatically skip your library.