follow-up:use of localavailelseany setting in Web OPAC

[Alan Cornish <cornish@xxxxxxxxxx>]

earlier this month, I posted this message:

 >I am interested in speaking with a staff member at a library that is using
 >the Request option localavailelseany in a production WebPAC. I understand
 >that this setting was first available for the Web OPAC with the installation
 >of Release 2000. I would like to discuss some implementation issues with a
 >III user that has successfully used this setting in the Web OPAC.

At that time, we had the Request option line set as follows:

REQUEST=Request this item|localavailelseany|ask

and all other settings in the system correct, but patron requests submitted 
through the Web OPAC were not preferring the local copy.  Instead, requests 
were being automatically routed based upon an alphabetical sort of 
locations.  For example, if a request was made for a title with two 
available items, one at location ab and one at location xy, then the ab 
copy, the lowest in the alphabetical arrangement, would be requested.

This problem has been resolved at our site.  As I understand it, III 
installed an update to Update B on our system and at that point, patron 
requests submitted began to prefer the local copy in a predictable manner.

To establish "local" items for the Web OPAC, a chain of settings must exist 
in the system:

-Locations Served table:  Associate a Locations Served value with one or 
more Item locations.
-INNOPAC Login Administration table:  Associate a Login with a Locations 
Served value.
-HTTP Access Administration table:  Associate a Login with either a 
specific IP address or an IP address range.  The INNOPAC Release 2000 
manual, record 14,999, shows that the use of IP ranges, such as 
123.456.78., in the HTTP Access Administration Table is acceptable.

We haven't encountered any unusual problems with patron requesting and the 
use of localavailelseany in Web OPAC after the Update B change was made by 
III.

Al Cornish
Systems Librarian
Washington State University Libraries (washs)
Pullman, WA 99164-5610
cornish@xxxxxxxxxx (e-mail)
509.335.1895 (voice) 509.335.6721 (fax)