Automediation | ISO ILL Protocols

OCLC's Virtual Document eXchange (VDX) is an electronic interlibrary loan and document request management system. It allows users to place and manage borrowing and lending requests between libraries.

VDX serves as the electronic interlibrary loan portion of the Access Pennsylvania Database. Requests are placed by searching the Database and completing an ILL request form. The request crosses over from Access Pennsylvania to the VDX system through a process called automediation. Automediation builds a Rota, which is a
lending string of owning libraries. The request is then automatically sent to the first library on the Rota for processing by a potential responder. This potential responder will determine whether they can lend the item. If they can, they will indicate "Shipped" in VDX. If they cannot, they will indicate "Non Supply" and the item will be automatically forwarded to the next library on the Rota until a responder is found.

The VDX system helps you manage all the stages of Interlibrary Loan. Your library, as a Requester and a Responder, will be able to keep track of each request that you have made and track each item that you have lent. The tracking uses ISO (International Standards Organization) ILL Protocols.

Automediation

Once the request has been submitted to VDX, it is routed to the requesting library where the VDX software authenticates the request for required information, such as author and title, before it searches the request again. It creates a routing list of owning (or Responding) libraries - called a Rota. A request that is authenticated and has a routing list is authorized and sent to the first library listed on the routing list or Rota. If that library indicates it cannot lend, the request will be automatically forwarded to the next library. The Requesting library will be able to check the status of the request anywhere in the process.

ISO ILL Protocols

The communication of the various stages of a request, or the status, is based on ISO protocols. The ISO 10161 protocol is an International Standard for ILL that defines the communication protocols for ILL and ensures that ILL information may be communicated across different ILL systems even if they use different hardware and software. The
ISO 10160 determines the terminology that is used for ILL transactions across these systems.