ILL Fee Management

ILL Fee Management frequently asked questions

General

• Can I still keep ILL fees in a separate accounting fund?
  

  My ILL department uses the fees for ILL charges to fund all or part of the department's operation. What impact will using this service have on my access to the money I need for my department?

  Every library has a unique accounting system. OCLC encourages you to discuss the billing process with the appropriate accounting or finance staff at your institution. They may be able to offer solutions for fully participating in the service. As part of the service, OCLC provides you with a monthly report that breaks out the amounts listed on your network or OCLC bill.

• Do Maximum Cost and Lending Charges relate to each other somehow?
  
  To be billed, a record must have valid IFM statements in both Maximum Cost and Lending Charges, with Lending Charges not exceeding Maximum Cost at the time the record is updated to Received.
• How do I handle an IFM MAXCOST if I charge nothing for loans?
  
  Fill the request without putting an IFM statement in the Lending Charges field. The loan is free. ILL Fee Management does not need to be involved in the loan transaction, even for ILL Fee Management participants.
• How do I handle sending a request with no IFM code in MAXCOST?
  
  You do not have to make any changes in the way you use OCLC ILL; use the Maximum Cost just as you always have. Borrowers are not required to put IFM codes in Maximum Cost if they do not wish to participate in the service. Lenders receiving the request can respond as usual and the transaction will not be billed through ILL Fee Management.
• How do I use IFM with reciprocal agreements?
  

  ILL Fee Management supports reciprocal agreements by being an optional service. As a borrower, you enter an IFM statement in the Maximum Cost field. Place reciprocating library symbols first in your lender string, then the symbols of other libraries. If the request is answered by a reciprocating library, that lender puts nothing in the Lending Charges field and there is no ILL Fee Management involvement. The loan is free.

  If the request goes on to nonreciprocating libraries and there is a charge for the loan, an IFM Lending Charges statement can be entered so that the transaction is billed through ILL Fee Management, for example, Maximum Cost GNH MEMBER $10ifm.

• How will ILL fee management affect my OCLC bill?
  

  You may see three additional line items on your monthly Network or OCLC bill:

  • IFM Library to Library borrowing debit--charges your library incurred for borrowing items
  • IFM Library to Library lending credit--credits your library receives for supplying items
  • IFM administrative fee--a small fee OCLC charges your library for completed borrowing transactions Note: The degree to which your network or OCLC bill is affected depends on the extent to which your library uses this option. If you are a large net-lender, your library could decrease its overall bill using the service.
• If lenders see no IFM MAXCOST statement, what should they do?
  

  Lenders have three choices:

  • Say No to the request because, without a valid IFM statement in the MAXCOST field, no billing will occur;
  • Use a Conditional to indicate that you will lend only if billed through ILL Fee Management, then request a valid Maximum Cost statement and see if the borrower will comply; or
  • Decide to fill the loan without ILL Fee Management billing
• How do I activate the IFM monthly reports?
  

  IFM monthly reports are automatically produced for any library with IFM transactions during a given month. There is no need to sign up for the reports, and they are produced free of charge. Reports are usually available by the tenth day of each month, for the preceding month. If your library does not receive an IFM report for a specific month and you believe you had transactions during that time, contact OCLC Customer Support.