Library Groups and Local Consortia are the foundations of resource sharing. They allow libraries to broaden their collections and their services. The spirit of giving really presents itself with this concept. One small library is able to prosper from the collections of many. In the Greater Midwest Region we encourage local consortia to become DOCLINE® library groups. (more…)

By Tammy Mays, MLIS
Former Consumer Health Coordinator
National Network of Libraries of Medicine
Chicago, IL

Have you ever wondered how you can list your Consumer Health Library on the Find a Library (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/libraries.html) page in MedlinePlus? (more…)

Jola Sliwinski
EFTS Program Coordinator
University of Connecticut Health Center Library
Farmington, CT

EFTS, the Electronic Fund Transfer System used to debit and credit member accounts for the cost of interlibrary loans, was started in 1996 and currently has over 1200 participants. There are now EFTS libraries in each of the 50 states, Canada and Mexico. In developing this service over the past eleven years, EFTS staff has had the opportunity to listen to many librarians who have raised questions, issues and concerns regarding EFTS. Here are some of the more common questions, concerns and answers about EFTS: (more…)

Hello DOCLINE® Libraries,

As your DOCLINE Coordinator I answer lots of questions regarding Routing Tables. Here is a list of tips to cover a few of those queries: (more…)

Hello DOCLINE Libraries,

Imagine a day where you log onto the DOCLINE System and all your patron requests are waiting there for you. The citations have been verified, the patron information has been filled-in, they are all in a neat little column and ready to be sent to institutions that own the items that are being requested.

Loansome Doc libraries start everyday like this. Your DOCLINE institutional profile can assist you in displaying the price of loans, the users groups you are ready to service and if you want your potential patron to contact your library before singing up for the service. Loansome Doc libraries are self-selected. The Loansome Doc Options screen in the Institutional profile controls the defaults for these services, delivery methods and registration.

For more ideas on the uses of Loansome Doc: Loansome Doc Information for Librarians

Hello DOCLINE® Libraries,

If you are going to be away from your library, take certain steps to assure that your users are aware of your absence. You likely update your voicemail message, initiate a hold for your email and repost hours of operation. You can do the same thing for your DOCLINE account.

Use the electronic DOCLINE Hold Request form to make use of a vacation mail like feature for your DOCLINE account. Placing your library on hold means that requests will no longer route to your institution. If you are a Loansome Doc library, your users will not be able to request items from you until you return. If they have a secondary library selected, the system will automatically choose the active DOCLINE library.

Hello DOCLINE® Libraries,

DOCLINE 3.1 was released on April 26, 2007 with the added ability to edit mail delivery options. Borrowers can review the Borrowing Preferences to improve routing. When electronic delivery is needed, borrowers should select the preferred delivery method. So if you have “mail” selected but you really want “email pdf” this is your opportunity to say so. There is no longer any need to rely on the comments field. Lenders are moving to electronic delivery methods so borrowers can receive requests quickly.

For detailed information and screenshots on this change take a look at the notes: DOCLINE 3.1 Release Notes

DOCLINE® was initially implemented in March 1985 as a command line, character based system for placing and routing interlibrary loan requests among the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. In fiscal year 1987, borrowers entered 788,105 interlibrary loan requests into DOCLINE and there were 1,435 participating libraries.
(more…)

The GMR is once again offering the NLM classification poster to our Network Members. If you would like one in your library please send an email to gmr at uic.edu requesting a classification poster. Please include your LIBID in your communication. If you are interested in the NLM Classification scheme, you can look at it online at http://wwwcf.nlm.nih.gov/class/

LinkOut has a new homepage that provides an easy-to-use framework to access LinkOut Help, the help manual for LinkOut. The new homepage also contains frequently updated information, like FAQs and provider and journal lists, links to Tutorials, and, for librarians, direct links to tasks in the Library Submission Utility. (more…)