Sample ILLiad Direct Request Routing Rules for the OCLC Automated Request Manager

This community post is not maintained with the most up-to-date information. For the most recent version of this article, please see the entry in the ILLiad documentation. 

Are you thinking about using ILLiad with OCLC’s Automated Request Manager (ARM) for direct requests, but don’t know where to start? We’ve compiled a few sample routing rules to help you learn how to make the most of this feature, reduce your processing times, and streamline your workflows.

These rules work by automatically routing certain kinds of requests to the "Awaiting Direct Request Sending" status, which ILLiad will then send to the OCLC ARM for processing. For more information on configuring these rules, and to learn how to set up ILLiad for use with the OCLC ARM system, see Unmediated OCLC Direct Request in the documentation.

You can also click here to view a video on implementing this feature on the Atlas Video Training Library (the presentation starts at 10:22).

Sample Rule #1: Send Only Requests Without Notes

This rule lets you automatically route only those requests without any associated notes to "Awaiting Direct Request Sending." This allows you to hold back any requests that may require specialized processing indicated in the Notes field for review before sending:

• Rule Active: Yes
• Process Type: Borrowing
• Transaction Status: Awaiting Request Processing
• Match String: t.TransactionNumber not in (select TransactionNumber from Notes where t.TransactionNumber = TransactionNumber)
• New Process Type: Borrowing
• New Transaction Status: Awaiting Direct Request Sending
• Rule Description: Moves all requests with a status of Awaiting Request Processing and without any notes to Awaiting Direct Request Sending.

Sample Rule #2: Send Only Requests with a Specified Value in the Notes Field

This rule lets you automatically route only those requests with some specific value entered in the Notes field to "Awaiting Direct Request Sending." In the following example, the “XYZ” located in the match string is the value we want to specify:

• Rule Active: Yes
• Process Type: Borrowing
• Transaction Status: Awaiting Request Processing
• Match String: t.TransactionNumber in (select TransactionNumber from Notes where t.TransactionNumber = TransactionNumber and Note like '%XYZ%')
• New Process Type: Borrowing
• New Transaction Status: Awaiting Direct Request Sending
• Rule Description: Moves all requests with a status of Awaiting Request Processing and that contain “XYZ” in the Notes field to Awaiting Direct Request Sending. 

Sample Rule #3: Send Only Requests that Return Unmatched from Rapid

This rule lets you automatically route only those requests that had first been sent to Rapid, but have returned to the “Awaiting Request Processing” status after failing to find any local or Rapid holdings:

• Rule Active: Yes
• Process Type: Borrowing
• Transaction Status: Awaiting Request Processing
• Match String: t.ISSN > '' and t.RequestType = 'Article' and t.LendingString = 'RAPID'
• New Process Type: Borrowing
• New Transaction Status: Awaiting Direct Request Sending
• Rule Description: Moves all requests that have failed Rapid to Awaiting Direct Request Sending.

To specify that this rule apply only to specific sites, you can edit the match string like this:

• u.NVTGC in ('SYMBOL1', 'SYMBOL2', 'SYMBOL3') and t.ISSN > '' and t.RequestType = 'Article' and t.LendingString = 'RAPID'

Just change “SYMBOL1,” “SYMBOL2,” and “SYMBOL3” to the symbols of those sites for which you want the rule to apply. You can also add or remove symbols as needed.

Sample Rules #4-5: Patron-Based Decision Making

Any patron-based decisions you'd like the system to make when using ILLiad with the OCLC ARM should be set up as routing rules in ILLiad, as ILLiad keeps patron data separate from WorldShare ILL. The following examples are routing rules for direct requests that would apply only to users with certain characteristics in ILLiad.

Send Requests Only from Cleared Faculty Members

This rule will automatically route only those requests that are submitted by cleared users with “Faculty” status in ILLiad to “Awaiting Direct Request Sending”:

• Rule Active: Yes
• Process Type: Borrowing
• Transaction Status: Awaiting Request Processing
• Match String: u.Cleared = 'Yes' and u.Status = 'Faculty' 
• New Process Type: Borrowing
• New Transaction Status: Awaiting Direct Request Sending
• Rule Description: Moves all requests from cleared faculty users to Awaiting Direct Request Sending.

Send Requests Only from Users with a Fulfilled Request in the Past Year

This rule will automatically route a request to “Awaiting Direct Request Sending” only if the user who submitted the request has had at least one fulfilled request in the past year:

• Rule Active: Yes
• Process Type: Borrowing
• Transaction Status: Awaiting Request Processing
• Match String: t.Username in (select Username from Transactions where t.Username = Username and TransactionStatus = 'Request Finished' and TransactionDate > (GETDATE() - 365))
• New Process Type: Borrowing
• New Transaction Status: Awaiting Direct Request Sending
• Rule Description: Moves requests to Awaiting Direct Request Sending only if the user has had a fulfilled request in the past year.