Tipasa release notes, December 2025

What is bibliographic matching and why is it important? 

Bibliographic matching exists to identify WorldCat records that best match what your users are requesting.  When a matching record is identified, bibliographic details on the request are updated to make the data more complete.  This helps staff fill requests more easily.  It is also the first step in automation, where lenders are identified who hold the requested item, based on your preferred lenders (which you designate by selecting a Custom Holdings Path in your Automated Request Manager configuration).

When does bibliographic matching occur? 

Bibliographic matching is triggered automatically when a request is submitted via:

• Tipasa My Account request forms
  • with data from OpenURL
  • with data typed into a blank request form
• FirstSearch

Bibliographic matching does not occur when ILL staff manually create a request in the Tipasa staff interface unless the request is then sent manually to automation, as shown:

For ILL request transfer, bibliographic matching occurs when the request is transferred to Tipasa.  To learn more about ILL request transfer, visit oc.lc/ill-transfer.

What changed with the December release? 

The bibliographic matching process has been enhanced to identify multiple acceptable bibliographic matches for each request.  Previously, the system would identify a single best match (based on the record most widely held in WorldCat).  Now, the system can identify multiple WorldCat records that are acceptable matches for the requested item.

How does this help you? 

Different libraries often choose to set their holdings on different records in WorldCat.  The records may describe the same item, but small differences may exist in WorldCat records (e.g., the language of cataloging).  At other times, there are different WorldCat records for the same serials (e.g., the print serial vs. the electronic version).  Functionally, these records describe the same item that your patron is requesting.  By expanding the concept of bibliographic matching to allow for multiple acceptable matches rather than just one, more of your preferred lenders will be included in the lender string.  This saves you staff time because requests sent through automation should now be filled more frequently - and by lenders earlier in your Custom Holdings Path.

How does this work? 

When a request goes through bibliographic matching, the system looks for standard numbers in the request (ISSN, ISBN, and OCLC numbers).  A WorldCat search is performed using all standard numbers in the request. Title checking is also performed against the original request to make sure no incorrect records are included. 

Material format matching also occurs, based on what was in the request.  If no format was in the request, the format of the most widely held record in WorldCat will be used for format matching.  This ensures, for example, that requests for DVDs do not result in bibliographic matching selecting WorldCat records for the book or VHS versions of the requested title.  While some formats are grouped together (allowing for records of related/equivalent formats to be included as "acceptable matches"), most formats have their own category and will not include records with another material format.

The following formats are now grouped together during bibliographic matching:

• Book, E-Text, Integrated Resource, Dissertation, Microform, Thesis
• Serial, E-Serial, Newspaper, Serial - Bound, Serial - Unbound

How does this impact you if you do not use Automation setup in Automated Request Manager? 

Bibliographic matching will continue to work as it does today:  identifying one single best-matched record and enhancing the bibliographic data in the request with information from the best-matched WorldCat record.

How does this impact you if you do use Automation setup in Automated Request Manager? 

If your library is using borrowing automation in Automated Request Manager with either of the following actions, then you will benefit from these enhancements.

• Send request to lenders OR
• Build lender string

After bibliographic matching identifies all acceptable matches in WorldCat, the system examines your preferred lenders, as dictated by your selected Custom Holdings Path in the matched automation.  The list of acceptable matches will be reduced to only those that are held by lenders in your Custom Holdings Path.  Those records will be retained and recorded.  

As the request moves through the lender string, different lenders may see different OCLC numbers and related bibliographic data on the request.  If you, as the borrower, open the request, you will see the same OCLC record and bibliographic data that the current lender sees.  This may change with different lenders if they have holdings set on different records in WorldCat that represent your requested item.

Benefits 

These improvements provide several benefits to your library:

• More preferred lenders included:  Your most preferred lenders from earlier groups in your custom holdings paths are more likely to be included in lender strings, even when they hold different but acceptable bibliographic records

• Improved fill rates: By considering multiple acceptable matches, the system can identify more potential lenders, increasing the likelihood of successful fulfillment.

• Better utilization of holdings:  The system makes better use of your library's holdings across multiple acceptable bibliographic records.

• Reduced staff intervention:  More requests are automatically routed to appropriate lenders without requiring staff review, when borrowing automation is configured to send requests to lenders in Automated Request Manager.

What does your library need to do to take advantage of this improvement? 

These improvements are applied automatically; no action is required from your library to benefit from them if you are already using Automated Request Manager to send requests to lenders or build lender strings.  The enhanced bibliographic matching is active for all new requests processed through the system.  If you are not currently using borrowing automation to process requests and would like to, help configuring it is available here.