The ISO InterLibrary Loan Protocol (ISO ILL)* is the international standard for interlibrary loan. It allows libraries to conduct ILL with other ISO ILL compliant systems as seamlessly as if both libraries were using the same system.
LADD can interoperate with other ISO ILL systems (e.g. OCLC’s ‘VDX system’ or Relais International’s Relais system or Ex Libris’ Aleph system) and allows ILL transactions to be sent from one ILL system to another via the LADD Gateway.
ISO sites that currently interoperate with LADD include New Zealand’s Te Puna libraries and the commercial supplier Infotrieve. See our ISO sites page for the full list of ISO ILL sites that interoperate with LADD.
* The protocol is described and defined in 2 standards: ISO 10160 – Interlibrary Loan Application Service Definition and ISO 10161 – Interlibrary Loan Application Protocol Specification.
Benefits
ISO ILL Interoperability dramatically reduces work for ILL staff because internal requesting (e.g. between campuses) and all other ILL transactions can work on a single system.
All ILL transactions will be logged in LADD and libraries using ISO ILL compliant systems can take advantage of our LADD Payments Service and reports.
Example of an ISO site requesting from another ISO site via the LADD Gateway
How to begin Interoperating with LADD using your own ISO ILL system
To begin using an ISO ILL system with LADD you need to purchase an ISO ILL compliant system that is able to interact with LADD.
Once you have installed and learned to use your ISO ILL system you MUST meet the following conditions before your ISO ILL system can interoperate with LADD:
- Have your software supplier confirm completion of vendor to vendor testing.
- Be a member of Libraries Australia Document Delivery.
- Test interoperability with LADD in our test environment (as outlined below).
- Purchase and load a LADD location data extract into their system.
- Sign a Memorandum of Understanding on ISO ILL Interoperability with LADD.
ISO ILL Interoperability Testing
Please submit a ‘Request to begin ISO ILL Interoperability testing’ form available from our contact page.
- Members wishing to test ISO ILL interoperability with LADD must meet criteria above.
- All testing of ISO interconnection will be conducted using the LADD test system and not the production system.
- The LADD Administration staff will establish an ISO location within the test system and will supply an account on the test system to test transmission to/from LADD. Details of the test system including ISO ILL IP/email addresses will be supplied.
- It is the shared responsibility of Libraries Australia and the ISO ILL System Administrator to ensure that ISO interconnection from their system to LADD and vice-versa is fully tested and is functioning correctly.
- Before establishing the external system as a Location in the production system LADD Administration staff will verify the ISO ILL System Administrator’s test results. The ISO ILL System Administrator will be required to supply copies of appropriately documented test results. The System Administrator will also be required to exchange a number of ILL requests with a designated LADD account and vice-versa to confirm ISO ILL connectivity and messaging.
- Subject to successful completion of the above tests LADD Administration staff will establish an agreed ISO location in the LADD production system.
- The National Library will attempt to meet all reasonable requests for access to the LADD test system for the purposes of interoperability testing but cannot guarantee the availability of systems or staff to support testing. The National Library reserves the right to reschedule or postpone testing in accordance with its business requirements.
Testing the LADD Payments Service:
- Testing of access to the LADD Payments Service will be dependent on the prior successful completion of the testing of ISO interoperability between the ISO ILL system and LADD.
- All testing of access to the Payments Service will be conducted using the LADD test system.
- Libraries Australia will establish a test payments service account in the LADD test system on request.
ISO ILL Interoperability Memorandum Of Understanding
In recent years the ISO ILL environment in Australia has become more complex, as an increasing number of libraries choose to use their own interlibrary loan systems to interoperate with LADD. It is important to ensure that requesting between ISO compliant interlibrary loan systems runs smoothly, that there is a suitable environment for interoperability, and that appropriate actions are taken to minimise any system problems that may occur.
Libraries Australia has drawn up a Memorandum of Understanding, with the objective of:
(a) setting out the relationship between ISO ILL partner libraries and LADD and our responsibilities when interoperating with each other using the ISO ILL protocol; and
(b) clarifying the actions that ISO ILL partner libraries and LADD should each be taking.
All libraries interoperating with LADD via the ISO ILL protocol are asked to sign this Memorandum as an adjunct to their existing Libraries Australia User Agreement.
For further information, please contact the Help Desk.
ISO ILL Thesaurus
There are current 3 systems which interoperate with LADD: VDX, Relais and Aleph, each of which uses different names for different fields. Below is a list of the different field names for each of these 3 systems. (Note: the information below is specific to the LADD Gateway environment).
OCLC: VDX (Virtual Document eXchange) |
Relais International: Relais |
Ex Libris: Aleph (Integrated ILL) |
| Location |
Supplier Record
|
Partner = a location the Aleph can supply to Potential Supplier = a Partner to whom Aleph can also request from Note: all Potential Suppliers are Partners but not all Partners are necessarily Potential Suppliers. |
|
Naming Authority
|
Registration Source
|
no such field in Aleph.
|
|
NUC
|
Supplier Code
|
Institution Symbol (includes Naming Authority e.g. NLA:ACT or NLNZ:ACT)
|
|
Long Description
|
Supplier Name
|
Partner Name
|
|
Suspension i.e. Will be Skipped When Rota Moves on (VDX 3.2.1) or Suspended No Requesting (VDX 4.1.2)
|
Supplier (can be Active or Inactive)
|
Status (can be Foreign, Domestic, Active, Inactive)
|
|
ILL No (VDX 3.2.1) / Our Number (VDX 4.1.2)
|
Request Number
|
Borrowing Request Number
|
|
TGQ (VDX 3.2.1) / Their Number (VDX 4.1.2)
|
External Number
|
Lending Request Number
|
Service Levels
LADD uses the Australian Service Levels which are mapped toIPIG (ILL Protocol Implementors Group) Service Levels as follows:
Australian Service Level |
Australian Service Level Code |
IPIG Service Level |
IPIG Service Level Code
|
| Core |
C
|
Normal (Local Search) |
( |
|
Rush
|
R
|
Rush (Local Search)
|
} |
|
Express
|
E
|
Express (Local Search)
|
> |
LADD Location Data
Location Data refers to information about Libraries Australia Document Delivery members. It is sourced from the LADD system and has been made available as a product to support interlibrary loan activity for those libraries who have implemented their own ILL systems and cannot access the LADD system’s data.
You can purchase the Location Data once as a base load, then keep the locations information up-to-date yourself, by adding, changing or removing details on your ILL system manually as the information is posted to the isolibs-l list (the email discussion list for our ISO ILL libraries). Alternatively, you can purchase the base Location Data plus monthly updates for peace of mind that your ILL system will always have up-to-date location information.
Files can be supplied in either Excel (.xls) or Oracle (.dmp) format (please contact the Help Desk if an alternative format is required). Note that monthly updates are not available in Oracle (.dmp) format.
How to order
Print, sign and send us (i.e. by post or fax) the relevant Location Data order form:
Location Data orders will be sent as an attachment via email. Where the list cannot be emailed, members will be advised how to collect it from our FTP server. If you have purchased monthly updates, these will also be emailed to you.
Pricing
See our charges page. Members may choose to have the cost added to their Libraries Australia account or request a separate invoice.
Known Issues & Workarounds for Requests from ISO Locations
A request cannot be found from an ISO location
Occasionally requests from ISO locations can enter an error in process status. To find these requests, we recommend that you run the report Responder (In Process) Status or Error Report. Also try searching for requests with the Last Action Status or Error Report.
