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OCLC Support

Smart fulfillment

Find information about Smart fulfillment features, which increase the speed of delivery of materials based on policy data, lending history, licensing agreements, format preferences, and more.

Smart fulfillment functionality across OCLC resource sharing services (WorldShare Interlibrary Loan, Tipasa, and ILLiad) saves time while processing lending requests and gets items to library users quickly.  

If you need additional assistance with setting up automation:

Smart fulfillment feature Configure Benefits for borrowers Benefits for lenders
Real-time availability for ILL
  • Libraries with WorldShare Management Services (WMS) are already configured. 
  • As part of their Tipasa subscription, OCLC resource sharing libraries can request setup here.

See Real-time availability for ILL.

  • Speeds up borrowing turnaround time.
  • Ensures your loan requests do not sit with lenders that cannot fill them because the items are checked out or otherwise unavailable to lend. 
  • Speeds up lending turnaround time.
  • Saves you time by not assigning loan requests to your library for items that are checked out or otherwise unavailable to lend.
  • Allows you to spend time focusing on requests you can fill.
Knowledge base coverage check

See Knowledge base coverage check

  • Ensures your loan requests do not sit with lenders that cannot fill them because of coverage range or license terms.
  • Allows requests which fall outside of the lender's knowledge base holdings to be automatically declined.
Automated Request Manager (ARM) for Borrowing

See Automated Request Manager.

 Learn more in a training course: Automated Request Manager

  • Speeds up borrowing turnaround time.
  • Selects the best WorldCat record for the request.
  • Gets the request to the right lender quicker by building a smart lender string.
  • Can send the request directly to lenders or move for staff review.
  • Speeds up lending turnaround time and balances requests across libraries. 
  • Requests you receive from other libraries are more likely to be for items you can supply.
  • Lender strings are smart, using load balancing that calculates your lending queue size and avoids sending you requests if your workload is higher than normal.
Automated Request Manager (ARM) for Lending
  • Set up custom holdings to reflect groups of libraries that should be charged the same amount and/or use the same shipping method.
  • Set up constant data to reflect your most frequently used combinations of charges, loan periods, and shipping methods.

See Automated Request Manager.

 Learn more in a training course: Automated Request Manager

  • Requests can be processed more quickly by lenders.
  • Requests will have expected lending charges and loan periods applied consistently.
  • Ensures your library’s stated policies are being applied consistently and correctly.
  • Speeds up lending turnaround time because it speeds processing time.
Smart lender strings

See Smart lender strings through the Automated Request Manager and Other OCLC Services that interact with smart fulfillment.

  • Speeds up borrowing turnaround time and improves fill rates. 
  • Builds strings of lenders that are most likely to fill the request.
  • Sorts lenders in order of turnaround time within each of the groups in your specified custom holdings path.
  • Considers deflections, licenses, and serial holdings automatically.
  • Leverage AI to provide intelligent timing, which factors in the actual times when lenders process copy requests. 
  • Speeds up lending turnaround time.
  • When other libraries use smart lender strings built in ARM, sends you requests for items you more likely can supply at the times you can supply them. 
  • Calculates your lending queue size and avoids sending you requests if your workload is higher than normal (that is, load balancing). 
  • Filters out libraries from the lending string that do not hold a specific serial year or volume according to their local holdings records or the WorldCat knowledge base. For more information, see oc.lc/getcm.
Express program

Libraries are invited to join based on historical ILL data.

See Express program.

  • Speeds up turnaround time for copy requests.
  • Gives you access to other fast copy suppliers to get materials to your library's users quickly.
  • Saves your library money because additional subscriptions to other resources sharing services are not required to achieve fast copy borrowing.
  • Leverages the power of the ILL service you already use.
  • Rewards you for great performance.
  • Recognizes your library to other libraries that are also fast so that you can build a network of fast copy suppliers within the large OCLC resource sharing network. 
  • Real-time availability for ILL
    Find information about Real-time availability, which connects your OCLC resource sharing service (WorldShare ILL, Tipasa, or ILLiad) to your library's local catalog and enables the system to automatically respond No to lending requests that have an OPAC status of unavailable.
  • Automated Request Manager
    Use this screen to configure Automations in Automated Request Manager (ARM) to automate ILL workflows. Automations are composed of match criteria you define along with actions you want the system to perform on matched requests.
  • Automated Request Manager for Lending
    Use the Automated Request Manager to apply designated constant data records to lending requests based on the identity of the borrowing library, the type of request, or the material format being requested.
  • Smart lender strings through the Automated Request Manager
    Find information about smart lender strings built for requests submitted through the Automated Request Manager (ARM).
  • Express program
    Find information about the Express digital delivery program, which connects high-performing libraries to form a select group committed to delivering digital resources within 18 hours or less.
  • Improve turnaround time
    Find information about improving your turnaround time for borrowing and lending in Tipasa.
  • Turnaround Time dashboards
    Use the Turnaround Time dashboard on the Tipasa home page to find your average lending and borrowing turnaround times.
  • Other OCLC services that interact with smart fulfillment
    Find information about how the WorldCat knowledge base and Local holdings records (LHRs) interact with smart fulfillment features.
  • Knowledge base coverage check
    Use the knowledge base coverage check to automatically respond No when a borrower requests an item from your WorldCat knowledge base that falls outside of your defined coverage range or license terms.