Connection Manager Lending Update Error

We've recently had several people ask about Connection Manager errors for Lending article requests where the OCLC status is Supplied and the ILLiad status is Request Finished. These requests appear to have been delivered successfully, so the error is difficult to figure out. While not all Connection Manager errors are caused by the same issue, here's some insight that might help you if you have encountered this problem recently.

The first step for investigating any Connection Manager error is to review the History tab to see if the default processing steps have been applied and compare any anomalies to the problem identified in the Connection Manager error. In this particular scenario, the Connection Manager error is an Update Error. Looking at the request history, we see that Awaiting Lending Scanning was initiated twice within the same minute. 

Awaiting Lending Scanning is a temporary status used by the system after a user selects the processing option Mark Found Scan Now. Typically, if these two updates are so close together, it's probable that the user accidentally initiated the Mark Found Scan Now button a second time before the first process was completed. Often this mistake happens because the Odyssey Scanning window did not open right away. Staffers think that the first attempt may have failed and click the button again. (Many of you who are working remotely these days may see similar delays in ILLiad responsiveness due to VPN traffic and other bandwidth issues.) This second click will send another OCLC update message which will be flagged as a Connection Manager error. 

In this situation, it's highly likely that the item has been delivered, and the Connection Manager error can simply be cleared. To avoid it in the future, be sure to give the system a few seconds to open the Odyssey window especially if you could be experiencing network delays.