The interlibrary loan protocol: AN OSI solution to ill messaging
| Published date | 01 April 1990 |
| Pages | 73-82 |
| Date | 01 April 1990 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047809 |
| Author | Fay Turner |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
THE INTERLIBRARY LOAN PROTOCOL:
AN OSI SOLUTION TO ILL MESSAGING
Fay Turner
The Interlibrary Loan (ILL) protocol is a stan-
dard based on the OSI Reference Model that
permits ILL messages to be exchanged between
heterogeneous systems. By defining a standard
for computer communications, the protocol
permits the exchange of ILL messages between
bibliographic institutions that use different com-
puters, systems, and communication services.
Recently approved as a Draft International Stan-
dard by the International Standards Organi-
zation, the protocol is expected to become an
International Standard in 1991. Implementations
based on this standard are currently being devel-
oped by institutions and software vendors in
North America and Europe.
Introduction
As interlibrary loan (ILL)
has
become an increas-
ingly used resource sharing mechanism for the ex-
change of books and periodicals, libraries have em-
braced new technologies to better manage ILL activi-
ties.
Many efficiencies have been gained through the
use of computers and telecommunication networks;
however, the proliferation of telecommunication
options, ILL systems, and non-standard message
formats has made the automated exchange of ILL
messages between dissimilar systems very complex.
The need for efficient intersystem communication
for interlending has been the impetus for the develop-
ment of
an
interlibrary loan messaging standard. The
ILL protocol, a standard being developed by the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO),
is based on the principles of the Open Systems Inter-
connection (OSI) Reference Model1 and will make it
possible for different ILL systems to communicate
regardless of
the ILL
software or hardware
used.
This
article describes the ILL protocol and the benefits to
be derived from protocol
use,
reviews the status of the
protocol as an international standard, and outlines the
various steps being taken by the National Library of
Canada
to
facilitate migration
to
an ILL protocol-based
environment.
Turner,
as a library network specialist at the National
Library of Canada and
the
Interlibrary Loan protocol project
coordinator, has worked since 1983 on the development of
the
ISO
ILL protocol.
She is
also responsible for NLC's ILL
Protocol Implementation Program and is secretary of the
International Forum on Open Bibliographic Systems.
—
THE INTERLIBRARY LOAN PROTOCOL
—
ISSUE 32 — (1990, NO.4) 73
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