VDX: Status Update

VDX (Virtual Document eXchange) is UC’s consortial borrowing system for use in interlibrary loan (ILL), based on Fretwell-Downing’s product.  The VDX implementation is a large and complex project that has far-reaching implications for all UC library patrons.  As such, it requires the allocation of resources to ensure success.

The VDX Implementation Task Force was created to provide collaborative advice to the staff of the CDL and the campuses for the ongoing implementation of the VDX ILL request tracking system.  The task force will provide a process for setting priorities and reaching agreement on technical issues.  Gary Johnson (UC Santa Barbara) and Jennifer Lee (UCLA) co-chair this group.  Information on task force membership and activities, as well as other information about the VDX implementation may be found at http://www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/request/vdx/.

Five campuses currently manage their interlibrary borrowing transactions through VDX.  Four more campuses are planning to begin using VDX for their borrowing.  All campuses are using VDX to lend to the five UC borrowers.

Jennifer Lee’s appointment to the CDL to assist campus ILL units with their implementation of VDX ended in October 2004.  Jennifer participated in the implementation through the training of ILL staff, the development and distribution of documentation, and advice on workflow considerations and location configuration.  Jennifer’s assistance was a primary factor in moving the VDX implementation project forward, and we are all very grateful to her and to the UCLA library administration for allowing her to assume that responsibility.

The UC ILL community felt that it was imperative that Jennifer’s role be continued, and so, in November 2004, Gary Johnson assumed a one-year, half-time appointment at the CDL to provide ongoing assistance.  Gary has been involved in the VDX implementation since its beginning.  His position as head of UCSB’s ILL operations for the last seven years, his participation in the Patron Initiated Request (PIR) team over the last two years, and his ongoing role as the UCSB representative to the UC Resource Sharing Group-Interlibrary Loan Advisory Group (RSC-IAG) made him an obvious candidate for this role.

Gary’s responsibilities over the next year in his CDL role will be very similar to Jennifer’s responsibilities. Gary will coordinate and provide training and documentation, and will assist the CDL with troubleshooting VDX issues and testing VDX program fixes and new versions.

One of Gary’s goals has been the creation of a UC VDX operations manual.  He and his UCSB staff have already completed a significant number of pages for this manual, which can be found on the VDX project page at http://www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/request/vdx/.

Another milestone in this project has been recently accomplished with UCSB’s implementation of lending to non-UC partners through the VDX-to-OCLC ISO ILL communication mechanism.  UCSB is now able to perform 98 percent of their ILL work flow through this single system.