Resource Sharing Implements Enhanced Verification Phase 2.5

Continuous improvement is what Resource Sharing staff, with tremendous help from the Minitex IT unit, always strive to achieve. It is in this spirit that we announce Enhanced Verification, Phase 2.5.

We announced previously that it is no longer necessary for libraries to include University of Minnesota, Twin Cities locations on requests. Shortly after that announcement, Minitex IT staff developed additional functionality for this process.

This latest enhancement performs a check for full-text article resources via MNCAT Discovery, the University of Minnesota Libraries' new "blended search" tool. IT staff are able to directly link to the requested article's URL, which is then shortened and converted into a barcode that appears on the printed request, as shown here:

Minitex staff can immediately link to the electronic article by scanning the barcode in a web browser. After a check of the electronic resource license agreements, we can often immediately send the item to the borrowing library via the borrower's preferred delivery method. We expect to handle almost two-thirds of article requests in this way. The remaining third will still require manual processing by our staff.

We hope the result of these efforts become apparent to you in reduced turn-around time. Please contact Agnes Lee if you have any questions.