(Post Go-Live) Alma/VDX NCIP Integration

Legend: NOT STARTED IN PROGRESS STALLED DECIDED

Recommendation

The FG recommends that all UC institutions integrate VDX with Alma using the NCIP 2 Accept Item and Check In Item messages. (Pre-SILS Alma institutions have already implemented these messages.)

We recommend that a single set of instructions be developed and published by the FG to eliminate redundant work.

We recommend that a representative of the SILS cohort negotiate with OCLC on behalf of the institutions to potentially reduce the upfront cost and yearly maintenance fee for the integration.

Because of testing limitations that require transactions with production WSILL, we recommend that NCIP integration be completed immediately post go-live.

Background

NCIP 2 is a standard protocol that enables integration between interlibrary loan systems and ILS circulation systems. VDX and Alma both support this protocol, and integrations have already been implemented at the UC institutions that installed Alma prior to the SILS. The two NCIP messages that have been used in the integration are:

• Accept Item, which automatically creates an on-the-fly record in Alma when the borrower receives the item in VDX.

• Check In Item, which automatically removes the on-the-fly record from Alma when the item is returned in the VDX.

These integrations have been used in UC for several years. Members disagree on the value of the Check In Item message, but generally agree that the Accept Item message saves a lot of time, but predicted return on investment varies by institution (see below).

Before the SILS, each institution worked independently with OCLC and Ex Libris to achieve the integration. In the SILS environment, this integration can be solved once, and standard instructions can be made available for configuring NCIP on all remaining IZs.

OCLC charges a one-time installation cost (est. $2000), as well as a yearly maintenance fee ($400), for each NCIP message.

Return on Investment

The length of time during which VDX will remain in use is not known, but currently planned to be no more than a year and a half. The quantity of borrowing from OCLC varies by institution to a considerable degree. The attached spreadsheet is an attempt to quantify the current costs of manual processes that could be replaced by implementing the Accept Item NCIP message.

Keep in mind that this estimate does not take into account labor that is more difficult to quantify, such as:

• The cost of delays in delivering items to hold shelves (as workers will need to create brief bibs for all items in a batch before shipping their items to their destinations).

• The cost of correcting errors in data entry.

• The cost of more highly paid staff having to perform the data entry when student workers are not available.

However, despite these limitations it is very clear that the costs vary by institution, and in all cases it is not clear whether NCIP would pay for itself if VDX is in service for only one year.

We therefore recommend that the decision to implement NCIP and bear its cost be made by individual institutions based on their own estimates of its benefits.

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