Search Policies Directory

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Learn how to search the OCLC Policies Directory and find information about the search results display.

Search the Policies Directory

You can search by any combination of criteria (you are not required to search by institution or group). For example, you can search for all OCLC suppliers that support rush handling in California and bill with OCLC IFM.

WorldCat registry data is updated within 2 hours. If you change any data in the WorldCat registry, users searching the Policies Directory will not see the changed data until after a two-hour delay.

Institution or group

Choose the type of search from the Search By list, then type the corresponding name of the institution or group or the symbol of the institution or group.

Search by	Description	Note
Name (Institution or Group)	The name of the institution or group	Due to the variety of abbreviations used in names, wildcards are recommended when searching by name. For example, Ohio State univ*
Institution Symbol	The three-five character OCLC symbol of the institution	Only exact matches are retrieved. Searching for ORE results in ORE, not VOREL, OREVE, FORES, etc.
Group Symbol	The four-character OCLC symbol of the OCLC-profiled group

Search guidelines

Search phrases are case-insensitive. Articles and most punctuation are ignored. Special characters (such as (and &) are treated as spaces.

Wildcard characters

? matches any single character
matches zero or more characters

Search strings that do not contain wildcards search for that string anywhere within the result (not just a result that begins with that string).

How to search

Note: The options in steps 3 and 4 do not apply to group name searches.

Step	Action
1	From the Search By list, choose what you want to search for (institution symbol or name, group symbol or name). Note: Symbol searches retrieve exact matches only. If a group symbol is found, all its members are listed on the search results screen.
2	Type the name or symbol of the institution or group (based on your choice in step 1).
3	Geography. (Country; State (USA)/province (Australia, Canada); City) Institution Types. Each library can choose a single type to describe itself. OCLC Supplier. Libraries that lend using the OCLC ILL system. Days To Respond. Number of days needed to respond to a request (4, 8, 12, 16 or 20) Rush Supported. Libraries that will expedite requests. Note: Rush handling often costs more than normal handling. International Lender. Libraries that lend to countries other than their own. Group Affiliation. To limit search by group, the group must be profiled by OCLC. Refer to OCLC profiled groups for more information. Note: These options do not apply to group name searches.
4	Policy Information options. Fee. Limit search by fee charged. The search will return institutions with policies that indicate a fee of less than or equal to the search amount. Must be numeric. Currency. Specify the currency defined in the policy. Format. Limit search by material type or physical manifestation of the item. Request Method. Limit search by request method (means by which ILL requests are accepted by the library). Delivery Method. Limit search by delivery method (service used or means by which items are delivered to a library). Billing Method. Limit search by billing method (service used or means by which a library will request payment for ILL transactions). Note: These options do not apply to group name searches.
5	Click the Search button. Click Reset to clear all data you entered.
6	The Search Results screen displays. Note: The maximum number of search results is 5000.

Search options

Note: Group searches use only the Name/Symbol field. The other search fields apply to institution searches.

Search options - Table

Field	Description
Search By (institution symbol or name, group symbol or name)	Determines which type of search results which will display Note: This is a required field. Symbol searches retrieve exact matches only. If a group symbol is found, all its members are listed on the search results screen.
Name/Symbol	Search for a specific institution, based on Search by selection
Geography	(Country; State (USA)/province (Australia, Canada); City)
Institution Types	Type of library, self identified by the institution
OCLC Supplier	Libraries that lend using the OCLC ILL system.
Days to Respond	Number of days needed to respond to a request (4, 8, 12, 16 or 20)
Rush Supported	Libraries that will expedite requests. Note: Rush handling often costs more than normal handling.
International Lender	Libraries that lend to countries other than their own.
Group Affiliation	To limit search by group, the group must be profiled by OCLC. Refer to OCLC profiled groups for more information.
Fee	Limit search by fee charged. The search will return institutions with policies that indicate a fee of less than or equal to the search amount. Must be numeric.
Currency	Specify the currency defined in the policy.
Format	Limit search by material type or physical manifestation of the item.
Request Method	Limit search by request method (means by which ILL requests are accepted by the library).
Delivery Method	Limit search by delivery method (service used or means by which items are delivered to a library).
Billing Method	Limit search by billing method (service used or means by which a library will request payment for ILL transactions).

Search Results

This screen lists any matches from a search, up to 5000. Search results display as follows.

Hourly update of WorldCat registry data

Fields marked with an asterisk (*) in the Profile Information section contain data from the WorldCat registry. The Policies Directory updates this data on an hourly basis. If you change any data in the WorldCat registry, users searching the Policies Directory will not see the changed data until after the hourly update.

Display symbols

Search results screens that list institution symbols have a Display Symbols button (above and below the search results table) that displays all retrieved institution symbols in a window from which you can copy them.

Symbol search results

Suche	Type of matching	Kind of search result displayed	Display symbols on search results screen?
Institution Symbol	Exact match (one result or nothing	Institution profile displays, if found	Nein
Group Symbol	Exact match (one result or nothing	If group found, all symbols of group members displayed	Ja

Name search results

Suche	Type of matching	Actions	Display symbols on search results screen?
Institution Name	List of results	Click Institution name to display profile	Nein
Group name	List of results	In the Institutions column, click the number to display all symbols of group members	Yes (if number in institution column has been clicked)

Return to tabs from search results

To return to the Profile tab (and the other tabs), click the institution name in the upper right corner of the screen.