WorldShare Circulation release notes, October 2025
Release Date: October 13, 2025
Introduction
This release of WMS Circulation provides new features and enhancements in addition to bug fixes. These features will help you manage more complex workflows, including:
- Next-Generation Notifications messaging integration packages text messages to send to patrons through your messaging provider
- Overdue notification billing allows institutions to assess overdue bills while the item remains on loan, instead of assessing the bill upon check-in.
- Enhanced bill messaging on My Account and Staff UI helps patrons and staff better understand current and future bills for overdue items.
- Prevent holds on available items allows libraries to prevent patrons from putting a hold on an item that is available on the shelves at its home branch.
Many of these enhancements are the direct result of your feedback.
Recommended actions
For this release, we recommend that you review the following checklists and complete the relevant tasks so that you can adjust your policies and workflows and train your staff. These checklists identify updates that we have determined as significant for most institutions. We encourage you to review all of the items in the release notes to determine whether there are other items that might require additional action or follow up by your institution.
Administrative actions
These items require immediate action or decisions.
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Retirement: WMS Collection Management API (1 April 2026) The WMS Collection Management API will sunset on 1 April 2026. Please review the Collection Management API transition resources to learn how to migrate to the Metadata API, which is much more modern, flexible, and robust. We acknowledge that a common use case for the WMS Collection Management API has been a spine label printing solution. This feature is available via the Label Print Lists functionality within Record Manager, WMS Circulation, or WMS Acquisitions. If you have questions or concerns about how this change will impact you, please contact support@oclc.org. |
Follow-up actions
In an effort to keep your staff informed of new features and changes, you may also want to consider these items.
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Group aware libraries: Ensure consistent patron experience by enabling NGNs at the same time For group aware libraries, enable Next-Generation Notifications (NGNs) concurrently across all member institutions to ensure a consistent patron experience. When any member library enables a single NGN, its legacy notification will be disabled, so coordinate a single rollout window across the consortium to avoid mixed notification experiences for patrons who borrow from multiple libraries |
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Begin planning your transition to Next-Generation Notifications Explore the Next-Generation Notification resources in the NGN section (sign-in required) of the WMS Circulation Community Center site, as well as in WorldShare Circulation help documentation. |
| Access the Next-Generation Notifications overview training This self-paced course reviews Next-Generation Notifications in WorldShare Circulation, including:
Access the Next-Generation Notifications overview self-paced training. |
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To send text messages using Next-Generation Notifications, work with your messaging provider To enable text delivery, libraries must coordinate with their messaging providers to retrieve CSV files from their assigned SFTP directory. Providers will use the data in these files to send text messages to patrons accordingly. Please ensure your messaging provider has access to the SFTP location and understands the CSV file structure to process and send notifications correctly. |
New features and enhancements
Next-Generation Notifications messaging integration
We are excited to announce the release of the Next-Generation Notifications messaging integration, allowing libraries deliver text message notifications to patrons.
Key features
- Automated generation of text message notification files in CSV format, updated every 10-20 minutes (when new messages exist).
- Each CSV file includes detailed notification data such as notification type, creation timestamp, sending and recipient institution IDs, recipient mobile number, locale, and message content.
- Files are securely placed on your library's file exchange under the path /xfer/wms/out/circdata/notifications
- Currently available for all loan notifications and will be available for future notification types once released.
Configuring the messaging integration
To begin packaging text messages and sending them to your institution's file exchange, you will need to:
- Configure the Text Message template
- Enable Messaging Integration for your desired notification types
Configuring your template
First, navigate to your desired NGN template and configure the Text Message field.
Enabling Messaging Integration
Next, select Enable Messaging Integration next to the notification types you wish to send text messages for.
Additional details
- When you enable the Messaging Integration, the files begin loading to your file exchange. To prevent unnecessary buildup of files, we recommend that you do not enable the Messaging Integration until you have a solution in place with your messaging provider.
- Files are generated approximately every 10-20 minutes, depending on system load and message volume.
- Each notification is represented as a separate row within the CSV file.
- The integration adheres to existing batching and debounce rules to avoid duplicate messages.
- Text messages are not truncated, so be mindful of template length.
- The messaging integration does not support data objects at this time.
- Groups can make templates for each language in their group.
- Text messages can be viewed in the patron history according to your library's configuration.
- To receive messages, the patron must navigate to My Account and provide a mobile number and opt into receiving library account updates by text message
Visit Text message notification integration for additional information and workflows.
Prevent holds on available items at home branch
This feature enhances hold management by preventing holds when available items exist at the pickup location, encouraging patrons to retrieve items directly from the shelf.
Key features
- Automatically prevents holds when available, requestable items exist at the pickup location
- Maintains existing functionality for special requests
- When patrons attempt to place a hold disallowed by this rule, they will receive an error message
- Staff UI displays policy conflicts with "(not allowed by policy)" indicators
Enabling prevent holds on available items
- Navigate to Service Config > WMS Circulation > Collection Type Policy
- Under Fulfill holds by item status, select Available item cannot be picked up at its home branch.
Visit Collection Type Policy for additional information and workflows.
Overdue notification billing
This new feature allows institutions to assess overdue bills while the item remains on loan, encouraging timely returns and providing clarity to patrons about what they owe. Unlike the existing overdue billing feature (which only creates a bill when the overdue item's loan ends), these bills will be raised while the item remains on loan.
Key features
Configurable Billing Options
- Available for regular, restricted, and recalled loans.
- To enable, navigate to Loans > Settings
- To enable, navigate to Loans > Settings
- Fixed bill structures can be assigned to each scheduled notification in a series.
- To enable, navigate to Loans > Loan Policy
- Scroll to Notifications
- Toggle Configure overdue billing? to Yes
- Billing rules allow charging per overdue item or per notification
Enhanced bill messaging
Improvements to My Account
- Patrons can view total overdue charges, next billing dates, and amounts
- Enhanced fee display for bills assessed per overdue item or notification
- Support for both assessed charges and accruing fees
Improvements to Staff UI
- New Overdue Billing column in the Checkout tab displays total charged amounts
- Please note that the bill reason information is based on most recent charges
Visit Fees for additional information and workflows.
Bug fixes
- Ensured the Next-Generation Notification template list translates correctly.
- Fixed a check-in error that could occur after an item's hold was canceled.
Important links
Support website(s)
Support information for this product and related products can be found at: