PIR, the RFP Process, Mary Heath, UC Davis

The CDL has issued a Request for Purchase (RFP) for the supply of a freestanding interlibrary loan “Fulfillment Service”.  This application is the second piece in the CDL Request functionality — the first having been the collaboratively developed Resolution Service — and will complete the functionality envisioned by the CDL Request architecture.  It is expected that the Fulfillment Service will be integrated into the second phase of CDL Request implementation in January 2000.

Currently, the CDL Request Resolution Service analyzes a request and then forwards appropriate bibliographic and patron information, as well as an ordered list of UC library locations holding the item, to the OCLC ILL Direct system.  When implemented, the Fulfillment Service will replace the OCLC ILL Direct system in the CDL Request process.  It is further envisioned that the Fulfillment Service will provide a single workflow for interlibrary transactions for each participating unit on all of the nine campuses, managing all ILL request processing, as well as providing temporary tracking functions for materials while they are in the loan process.  The application will accept requests from a variety of sources in addition to the Request Resolution Service (e.g., web request forms, manual input, external systems such as OCLC and DOCLINE), will manage the fulfillment of the request, and will be able to direct requests to other, external systems as appropriate (e.g., OCLC and DOCLINE).

The Fulfillment Service RFP specifications are posted on the PIR web site (www.cdlib.org/libstaff/pir — the last entry under the section titled Descriptive Information).  The document is “Patron Initiated Request Fulfillment Service: Request for Purchase”, and is available in Word6.0 and PDF formats.  The creation of this document was a real collaborative effort, with significant input from a number of people on the nine campuses.

The deadline for vendor responses to the RFP is mid-May, and a small team of Librarians and staff from a number of campuses will evaluate the responses.  The top three bids will be presented to ILL and Circulation staffs from the nine campuses in two (north and south) workshops to be held in early summer, and input to the final selection solicited in those workshops.  A contract for a Fulfillment Service system is expected to be completed by mid-summer.