The MnLINK Gateway RFP (Request for Procurement) Committee successfully concluded its process by signing a contract with OCLC for their discovery and interlibrary loan solutions on July 2, 2015. The patron interface, OCLC’s WorldCat Discovery, is being customized to meet the needs of libraries and users in the Minitex region. For the next few years, the interlibrary loan function will continue to use the VDX ILL software currently used on the MnLINK Gateway, and will be replaced by WorldShare Interlibrary Loan when OCLC completes the customizations required to meet Minitex needs.
OCLC’s discovery system will be a major improvement for users searching for books, digital images, electronic content, and ebooks using the MnLINK Gateway. Minitex hopes to implement this interface in January 2016. All libraries on the MnLINK Gateway must have their holdings catalogued on OCLC in order to be included in search results. Holdings for all locations need to be up to date in order for WorldCat Discovery to be an effective tool to search library collections. A one-time batch loading reclamation is included in the contract at no extra charge for libraries with either OCLC Cataloging or CatExpress subscriptions. The reclamation must be completed by June 2018, and Minitex encourages libraries to do this as soon as possible. The contract also includes a mechanism to enable the four non-OCLC cataloging libraries currently on the Gateway to be represented in the catalog.
Minitex thanks the committee members who dedicated their time, energy and expertise to this project. We also want to acknowledge the many institutions that generously supported their participation on this committee.
MnLINK RFP Committee Members
- Nick Banitt – Minitex
- Ken Behringer – Dakota County Library
- Mary Lou Dresbach – Minnesota Office of Higher Education
- Ruth Dukelow – CLIC
- Sonja Eilertson – PALS
- Raquel Franklin – Minitex
- Cheryl Hill – SELCO
- Ann Hutton – SELCO
- Karen Kilbride – Hennepin County Library
- Emily Kissane – Minnesota State Library Services
- Nicole Murphy – Lake Agassiz Regional Library
- Dixie Ohlander – Augsburg College
- Becky Ringwelski – Minitex
- Greg Sauve – Rochester Public Library
- Jill Smith – Anoka County Library
- Darla Sorenson – Traverse des Sioux Library System
- Paul Swanson – Minitex
More information will be forthcoming. In the meantime, please email Becky Ringwelski or call 612-624-0375 if you have questions.
raries interested in the reclamation offer for the MnLINK Gateway transition to OCLC WorldCat Discovery are strongly encouraged to attend a 60-minute OCLC webinar to learn more about the project. The webinar will take place on Thursday, October 29 at 1:00 PM and will be recorded for later viewing. This webinar will cover the same material as the OCLC Reclamation webinar that took place on October 6. All locations currently represented on the MnLINK Gateway are eligible for the reclamation. For more information about the project, please review articles previously published on Minitex News or contact Becky Ringwelski.