RLG's ILL Manager: A Distributed Resource Sharing System for the New ISO ILL Environment Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love International Standards

Abstract

ABSTRACT ILL Manager is a complete interlibrary loan system designed and marketed by the Research Libraries Group, Inc. Based on the ISO ILL protocols, ILL Manager can function as a distributed peer-to-peer system, sending and tracking requests directly with partners that also operate on an ISO-compliant system, server to server. ILL Manager can also trade requests with partners still residing on the centralized OCLC and RLIN ILL systems by sending protocol messages through ISO-compliant gateways to those systems. Users of ILL Manager search any Z39.50 compliant catalog, transfer bibliographic data into an ILL workform, and send protocol-compliant requests to virtually any resource-sharing partner. By achieving one workflow for all ILL transactions and automating many routine procedures, ILL Manager has potential for greatly reducing ILL unit costs.