Tipasa integration with third-party ILS provides you with a method to streamline the interlibrary loan-circulation process and workflow. Librarians and staff who process ILL loans will no longer have to update their ILS manually to create temporary items and patron holds, charge patron ILL fees (for WMS or Alma), check out items that your library is lending, or check-in items at the end of the loan period. Third-party integration is available for:
You must set up the integration before following the procedures outlined below. For details on how to set up the integration, see Set up third-party integration.
Note: The integration workflow applies to loan requests, which require circulation of a physical item. Copy requests are handled through Tipasa, with no need to "check out" an electronic, non-returnable item. If enabled, Patron fees can still be assessed for Copy requests.
Staff actions take place across both Tipasa and the third-party system. System refers to the automatic integration steps done by the system.
The workflow begins when the patron submits an ILL request using the Patron Request Form.
Caution: The Patron Request Form must contain the Patron ID field so patrons are required to enter their patron identifier when submitting a request.
By default, the Interlibrary Loan Identifier (illId) from the patron’s Tipasa record will auto-populate on the request form when the patron logs in to place a request in Tipasa. If your patrons do not have an Interlibrary Loan Identifier in their Tipasa patron records, please contact OCLC Support for assistance.
The Patron ID from the request form is the connection between the ILL Request and the ILS, so it needs to be a value that can be used to look up the patron in the third-party ILS. Library staff can also initiate requests for the patron within Tipasa by providing the patron's ILS identifier in the Patron ID field of the ILL Request.
Once the request is received in Tipasa, library staff need to review the request and send it to lenders.
To review and send the request:
Considerations
Once you receive the item from the lender, you need to confirm or enter the item's barcode in the ILL Request in Tipasa and mark the request as received. The system will use the barcode to create the temporary item, which can be seen in step 4.
To confirm the barcode and mark the item as received:
Note: The supplier's shipped item barcode can be replaced in the Temporary Barcode field. You may wish to use the Tipasa Request ID as the item's barcode to more easily research the ILL request after it has been closed by the lending library.
Patrons can track the process of the ILL request by checking their My Account. The On Route status is displayed to the patron as "This item is being sent to [patron's pickup location]."
Considerations
If you have configured to charge patron on shipped (Alma or WMS only) in the Circulation Integration module of the Service Configuration, fees will be assessed to the patron's account when the item is shipped from the lender.
To configure Fees for ILL items, please see Patron Fees.
If you have enabled Circulation Integration, do not batch receive loan requests. Each request should be received separately so that an item barcode can be specified for use in the third-party system.
If you have configured this setting in the Circulation Integration module of the Service Configuration, after you mark a request as received, the system creates a temporary item and places an item-level hold on the item for the patron.
In Alma, you can confirm that the system created the temporary item by doing a Physical items – Barcode search.
Note: If you are using Alma Hold Pickup notifications, Circulation staff receive the physical item from the ILL department and scan in the item to trigger a pick-up notification or Hold Receipt when the item arrives at the patron's pickup location.
If you are using Tipasa Loan available for pickup notifications, that notification will go out when the item is marked as received in Tipasa (or after the amount of delay you have configured for this notification in Service Configuration).
Review the ILS documentation for the check in workflow:
For more information about configuring Tipasa Loan available for pickup notifications (including time delays), see Edit and send notifications.
When the patron arrives to pick up the item, Circulation staff check out the item to the patron.
Review the ILS documentation for the check out workflow:
If you have activated the Update due date upon lender approval of renewal request in the Circulation integration section of the OCLC Service Configuration, the due date of the temporary item is updated in the circulation system when a renewal request has been approved by the lending library.
Time passes while the patron has the item on loan. When the patron returns the item, Circulation staff or ILL staff check in the item.
To check in the item:
If you have enabled the Check in item on check in functionality in the Circulation Integration module of the OCLC Service Configuration, the item is automatically checked-in when the request is marked as returned in Tipasa.
Circulation staff:
Review ILS documentation for the check in workflow:
Tipasa staff:
Once the item is returned to the ILL department, ILL staff mark the item as returned and ship the item back to the lender.
To mark the item as received and return it to the lender:
Affix the label to the package with the item and ship to the lender. Once the lender receives the returned item, they will mark it Checked In/Complete and the ILL request is closed.
When the item is returned:
If the item is checked in to your Circulation environment prior to Tipasa:
Note: Checking in first in Alma will not cause problems with the integration.