IDS Workflow Toolkit

Shared Servers and NVTGC

What is it?

Shared servers are helpful if you have multiple libraries on one campus lumped under just one OCLC symbol (such as a Science Library). This type of setup is worth exploring if, for example, you have multiple delivery locations on campus, but one central ILL department.

How does it help?

Shared servers allow institutions with multiple branch libraries to share an instance of ILLiad. This provides each individual library’s patrons to identify which location they want to pick up their deliveries. It also allows staff at each library the ability to process their own requests from their own patrons and collections.

Getting Started

Dave Williams (University of Notre Dame) has contributed some documentation that will help you set up multiple NVTGC codes in a shared server environment (i.e. one OCLC symbol).

Non-shared server (Notre Dame Main Library + their Delivery Locations)

The following will address how they are handled in two environments: non-shared server AND in a shared server environment. (We can speak of this, because a little over a year ago, Notre Dame went from a non-shared server environment to a shared server environment and we got to learn the difference in how they work in these two different environments.)

There seems to be two types of NVTCG codes: (1) Main Institutional and (2) Delivery Locations.

1. Our NVTGC code is our institutional code, IND.

2. When signing up for an ILL account via the ILL online registration page, user can select a delivery location (for us, tends to be a branch):

3. ILL = ILL Office (synonymous with Main Library);

4. ARCH = Architecture Branch;

5. MATH = Math Branch;

6. Etc.

Server processing

BORROWING requests from our users come get processed and are based on their Delivery Location NVTGC value. For example, we have routing rules that place ARCH requests into a special Architecture Branch Queue.

** If user didn’t select a Delivery Location NVTGC value, by default user is assigned the ILL value. (For some reason, there was an issue of making it a required field, which I don’t recall now.)  This becomes important when we switched to a shared server environment**

ILLiad web forms

On the “NewUserRegistration.html” form (online registration for new users), these DELIVERY LOCATIONS options are coded under <#PARAM> tag and selecting a delivery location somehow links user to IND. Using the form, users who don’t select a delivery location (and therefore, an NVGTC value) by default will be assigned the NVTGC value of ILL (main ILL office), not IND (the institutional code). These sub-library delivery locations are all within the institutional umbrella of the NVTGC code of IND (Notre Dame).

Shared server (two institutions)

In this setup, each institution has their own unique institutional code: IND (Main Library + Branches) and XND (Law Library).

Why switch to a shared server?

Though they are under another administrative entity, the Notre Dame Law Library wanted to use the ILLiad system to manage ILL requests. Given our association and relationship with the Law Library, it made sense for us to SHARE resources and costs, rather than have the Law Library purchase a separate license and contract.

Server processing

With the two types of users sharing the same server – (1) Notre Dame “Main Library + Branches” and (2) Notre Dame Library Users – borrowing request are kept separate. Staffs from the two institutions do not see each others’ requests, because they are filtered based on the institutional NVTGC Value (IND or XND) EXCEPT that the NVTGC code “ILL” (in a shared server environment) became a DEFUNCT, Non Usable NVTGC value. When we switched to a shared server, requests from users with NVGTC value of “ILL” were no longer being filtering into the Notre Dame Main Library, but were “lost”; we had to contact Atlas Systems (we are hosted) who changed any user with the NVGTC value of ILL to IND. The NVGTC code then became a dual purpose: institutional and delivery location for the ILL main office.

ILLiad web forms

Therefore you will need to edit the User Registration forms and update the default delivery location. The “NewUserRegistration.html” form ( <#PARAM> of ILL (main ILL office)) needs to be changed from “ILL” to “IND.” This ensures that patron who didn’t select a delivery location during registration have their request filtered to the changed NVGTC code (in our case, IND) rather than filtered to the now defunct ILL code.

This is important, if you don’t want your users to have their request get lost in the system. Since we are hosted, OCLC Support handles most of this sort of configuration via scripts, but sometimes, things can fall through the cracks. It did for us. Here is how the code was updated:

Staff Manager

In the shared server configuration, each ILLiad user account must be assigned an Institutional NVGTC code (Called “Site”) when their user account is created. By doing this, when the user logs onto the ILLiad client, the user only sees the requests that pertain to their institution.

You can assign a user with a “Site” of “ALL”, but this has implications for using the Customization Manager. (This is a non-issue in a non-shared environment)

Customization Manager

When you log into the customization manager, you have to select the SITE where you are working (see attached image). Since I make changes or create routing rules in the IND site, I select the IND code. (This is a non-issue prior in a non-shared environment.)