Downers Grove Public Library delivers a more seamless, self-service ILL experience

Downers Grove Public Library uses Tipasa and WorldCat Discovery to make interlibrary loan (ILL) easier for patrons by adding self-service ILL requesting, clear status tracking, and timely updates to a more staff-mediated, outdated, and less visible process.

OCLC services used:

• Tipasa
• WorldCat Discovery

Founded in 1891, the Downers Grove Public Library has evolved over more than a century to meet the needs of a growing community. Part of the SWAN consortium but supported by a small in-house team, it circulates more than one million items annually and was recognized as a 2022 Library Journal 5-star library.

In 2018, ILL at Downers Grove looked very different for patrons. Instead of requesting items directly from the online discovery experience, they had to complete an ILL form at the reference desk. When Tim Candlish became the ILL Coordinator in 2023, his focus was to remove that friction and make automated ILL feel like a normal part of borrowing, moving to a self-service online request embedded in the library’s discovery layer, with clear updates and request tracking along the way.

From discovery to request—built on verified records

Downers Grove patrons now initiate ILL requests through WorldCat Discovery, accessible from the library's website and catalog. This gives patrons a self-sufficient path to start an ILL request at the moment they discover an item without needing to contact staff or retype citation details. Because requests in WorldCat Discovery are tied to an item's OCLC number, which links the request to a verified bibliographic record, patrons are able to submit complete, accurate requests, removing the need for follow-ups to clarify citations and having fewer delays getting requests into the lending workflow.

Seamless, out-of-consortium ILL for patrons

With about 100 member libraries in the group, borrowing within the SWAN consortium is really simple for patrons. In the past, when a requested item fell outside the group, the experience felt very different. "It always felt like this kind of arcane thing when it was like, ‘Oh, you have to go outside the system,' and everybody was like, ‘What is this? This is like such a special request,'" Tim said. "For the patron, it should feel seamless because they don't need to know which libraries are and aren't part of our consortium."

Self-service tracking that matches patron expectations

A major draw of Tipasa for Downers Grove was the ‘My Account' feature, which gives patrons the visibility they expect. They can place ILL requests, check status (such as "in-transit" or "arrived"), view request history, and submit renewal requests in one place. For frequent ILL users, request history is especially helpful. Before Tipasa, library staff sometimes had to dig through files of past requests. Now, patrons can check their request history themselves.

Clearer communication with custom notifications

Tipasa notifications make ILL communication more proactive and easier for patrons to navigate. Tim created custom notifications for common scenarios, giving him the ability to send a message to a patron quickly without having to rely on ad hoc emails. Patrons can also reply directly to notifications, making it faster to resolve questions such as confirming whether a different edition is acceptable.

Each week, Downers Grove receives a consortium report of titles that patrons have placed on hold but can't be filled because the item is unavailable. Tim uses that report to place an out-of-system ILL request for the patron, then sends a notification through Tipasa letting them know the request is now in progress and that they don't need to do anything else. The library has received great feedback about this customer service.

Automations that save staff time

Downers Grove runs ILL with a small team: Tim is the sole full-time ILL staff member, supported by a part-time assistant and cross-trained back-up staff. With that staffing model, efficiency matters—especially because Tim also needs to be available to cover the reference desk.

After consulting with OCLC staff, Tim worked to implement more automations. Previously, library staff often built lender strings by hand, which is time intensive. By trusting automated routing for routine requests, and reinforcing setup with strong configurations (such as custom holdings groups/paths), the library has reduced the manual effort required to keep requests moving.

Tim also points to small, practical workflow tools, like tags, as quick wins. Tags help staff track patron preferences and follow-ups (for example, patrons who prefer pickup lockers).

With routine steps handled more efficiently, Tim can spend more time on work that benefits from human attention: Complex requests, direct patron interaction, and reference services.

A more familiar, transparent ILL experience

By pairing WorldCat Discovery with Tipasa, Downers Grove Public Library has made ILL feel less like an arcane process and more like a normal part of borrowing—self-sufficient, trackable, and supported by clear communication—while also creating the efficiencies needed to sustain excellent service with a small team.