| Contents | Previous article | Next article |

National Library News

October 1995, vol. 27, no. 10

NAILDD Project: Results of Meeting

by Fay Turner, Information Analysis and Standards, and
Carrol D. Lunau, National and International Programs

Two meetings of the North American Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Project (NAILDD) were held on June 23, 1995 in Chicago. These meetings were a follow-up to the meetings held in Philadelphia in February (see "The North American Interlibrary Loan Document Delivery Project (NAILDD): Update", National Library News, vol. 27, no. 5, May 1995 for a report on the earlier meetings). This project, sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), aims to promote developments that will restructure and improve the delivery of library material to users. NAILDD has identified three priorities for interlibrary loan and document delivery (ILL/DD) improvement: ILL/DD management systems, financial/accounting systems, and standards to link local and national systems. Both meetings concluded that the ILL protocol and Z39.50 were essential standards to link the growing number of different ILL/DD systems that libraries are beginning to use.

ARL/NAILDD Forum on Managing ILL/DD

The morning meeting was a forum for directors and senior staff of ARL libraries on new ILL/DD projects and products intended to improve ILL management and provide links between different systems. Presentations on Maryland's Sailor Project, CPS System's LibLink, and Innovative Interface's ILL module all described sophisticated systems that facilitate ILL transactions management and tracking. Each incorporates proprietary interfaces to permit communication with other systems such as OCLC, RLIN, WLN, the British Library, etc. Jim Michael of DRA emphasized the need for vendors and libraries to invest in standards to access worldwide resources. Standards such as Z39.50 and the ILL protocol are essential to support global access and communications between dissimilar systems. Julie Nye of the Triangle Research Library Network (TRLN) briefly reviewed TRLN's new multi-library ILL network which uses the ILL protocol for internal ILL messaging.

Following these discussions of proprietary and non-proprietary solutions to linking ILL systems, Fay Turner gave a brief presentation on the ILL protocol. The ILL protocol was acknowledged as the solution for connecting different ILL systems, thus eliminating the need for proprietary interfaces and gateways. However, some vendors indicated that the incorporation of the standard was a long-range goal and that other systems development priorities would take precedence.

Other speakers were Sandy Grey of ISM, who gave an update on AVISO, and Collette Mak of OCLC, who discussed OCLC's ILL tracking and fee management services.

NAILDD Developers/Implementors Group Meeting

The afternoon meeting of the NAILDD Developers/Implementors Group (DIG) focussed primarily on the ILL protocol. Fay Turner gave a detailed presentation of the ILL protocol, emphasizing the protocol's main features, the need to distinguish the ILL protocol machine from the ILL application, and the protocol's benefits. She concluded with three recommendations to NAILDD: 1) endorse the ILL protocol and Z39.50 Item Order for systems linking; 2) encourage implementations of the ILL protocol through education, the creation of a working group on the ILL protocol and the development of technical expertise; and 3) encourage cooperation between libraries and vendors to develop protocol-based ILL systems.

Julie Nye followed, and spoke about TRLN's experience in implementing the ILL protocol. She raised both positive and negative points, including: TRLN has been able to design a better ILL application and user interface than expected; a long learning curve is required; there is inconsistency between the data elements in the ILL protocol and those specified in the NISO ILL data elements standard (the NISO standard is being revised); there was uncertainty as to which transfer syntaxes, BER or EDIFACT, should be used with the ILL protocol; and additional guidance is needed for protocol implementation. The document on ILL scenarios prepared for the National Library by Software Kinetics Limited was very useful in conceptualizing ILL messaging possibilities.

Many DIG members supported Fay Turner's recommendation to endorse the ILL protocol, but since DIG is not the appropriate body, the decision will be left to the ARL Access Committee. The second recommendation was deemed a more effective mechanism for making progress in the U.S. Several members are willing to participate in an ILL working group, including SIRSI, DRA, OCLC, and Ameritech. During a meeting of the ALA ILL Discussion Group the next day, it was reported that ARL will be forming an implementors group that will begin functioning in the fall.

Implications for Canadian Libraries

Until recently, U.S. libraries and software vendors paid relatively little attention to the ILL protocol because American libraries generally rely on the centralized ILL facilities offered by bibliographic utilities, particularly OCLC. However, with the recent development of stand-alone ILL/DD systems, the need for the ILL protocol to link all these incompatible systems is greater than ever. The National Library of Canada will continue to communicate with NAILDD members and library software vendors to promote and interpret the ILL protocol until similar expertise is developed in the U.S. The use of the ILL protocol by a greater number of libraries will improve ILL communications between Canadian and U.S. libraries and bring libraries closer to the goal of global access to information.