Web Forms and OCLC IPT

[Craighton Hippenhammer]

(Similar note crosslisted to ILL-L)

          I've been hanging out here awhile and am surprised that there hasn't
been more discussion about connecting ILL Web forms to OCLC's Interlibrary 
loan Prism Transfer (IPT), which allows data in ILL eforms to be ftp'd to one's
institution's OCLC Review file.  Ideally, all database search engines should
have an ILL module like FirstSearch has, but until then a separately
accessible electronic ILL form should do.  We're hoping to have time early
next year to develop the whole IPT process using Web forms for the patron 
interface.

          I would like to know if anyone is using IPT with Web forms; if 
so, any hints and/or evaluations and/or experiences with IPT and Web 
forms that might be helpful to the members.  Are there better alternatives?

          Below are OCLC sources on how to go about creating the Web 
forms and the IPT connection via OCLC's Tony Melvyn's note to me:


 > Craighton, the attached is Jim McDonald's notes on how he set up a 
 > WEB ILL Form, on our own corporate library's home page.  Please let 
 > me know if you got this document.   If you have any questions please 
 > contact me.  If you have any techy questions Jim McDonald here at
 > OCLC would also be happy to discuss.  His address is jhm at oclc.org

 > Tony Melvyn
 > OCLC/Product Implementation
 > tony_melvyn at oclc.org
 > 1-800-848-5878   ext 5091


 > CEO document contents:  

 > This briefly describes one method that can be used to collect ILL requests
 > via WWW forms and transfer these ILL requests into PRISM ILL via ILL
 > PRISM TRANSFER (IPT).  Local development is needed to use this
 > method!  Please read the IPT documentation before reading this.  It is
 > available at the following URL

 >      http://www.oclc.org/oclc/man/ill-ape.htm

 > This method was developed for OCLC staff to send ILL requests to their
 > Corporate Information Center.  The UNIX operating system is required for
 > this method. 

 > 1 - Web forms for ILL data entry.  These are html files that display ILL
 > labels and accept input.  ILL data from the forms is submitted to a local
 > web server.

 > 2 - Local web server.  The server invokes a program called uncgi to 
 > convert the MOSAIC names to environment variables, and execute a 
 > designated local shell script.  

 > 3 - Local shell script.  This executes modified IPT utility software.  

 > 4 - Modified IPT software.  IPT software is available on OCLCs anonymous
 > FTP server(FTP.RSCH.OCLC.ORG) in the /pub/IPTutilities directory.  There
 > is a function to encode ILL data in BER, and a test driver for that 
 > function.

 > The test driver uses hardcoded data, and writes the BER encoded data to a
 > local file. 

 > To accept ILL data from the local server, modify a copy of the test driver
 > to:

 >   - accept environment variables  
 >   - validate required fields
 >   - map user input fields into IPT fields, if required
 >   - initialize the fld_tbl array with data from these fields
 >   - change fopen to append to a file

 > 5 - EDX header creation.  Write a program to count the number of BER
 > encoded ILL records in the local file, and create an EDX header with the
 > record count.  The EDX header is described in the IPT documentation.  
 > There is a C function (asn1len) that can be used to obtain the length 
 > of a BER encoded record.  It is part of OCLC's BER utilities available 
 < on OCLCs anonymous FTP server(FTP.RSCH.OCLC.ORG) in the 
 > /pub/BERutilities directory.

 > 6 - File transfer.  Write shell scripts to create a local file containing
 > the EDX header and the BER encoded ILL data, and to FTP the local file to
 > the location at OCLC where it will be collected and processed by the IPT
 > jobs. These file transfer scripts can be initiated nightly via CRON.

 > 7 - Loading into PRISM ILL.  Existing IPT processes collect the data that
 > was transferred and load it into PRISM ILL.

 > Jim McDonald
 > Consulting Systems Analyst
 > OCLC Core Services


Anyone who would like me to forward them a copy of OCLC's (Jim's) sample IPT 
forms please write me directly.

Craighton Hippenhammer
Access Services and Information Technology Librarian
Olivet Nazarene University
chhammer at olivet.edu