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Document Supply News & Customer Updates

Here we bring you the Customer Service Update for November 2012.

Christmas and New Year Public Holidays (November 2012)

Registering for a British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) Online Account (November 2012)

British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) Machine Readable Reply Codes (November 2012)

ARTEmail Format (November 2012)

Returning Loans (November 2012)

Return of Loans and Renewals during Public Holiday Closures (November 2012)

Now Available - Document Supply Music Collection (November 2012)

British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) technical issues - update (October 2012)

British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) Online Videos (October 2012)

BLDSS Extended Search Services – GIFM and FIFM (August 2012)

British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) Online Interface (August 2012)

Adobe Signing Service and Activation Service Maintenance (July 2012)

Extended Search Service and August 2012 Price Changes (July 2012)

2012/13 Document Supply Prices (June 2012)

 

Christmas and New Year Public Holidays (November 2012)

Please visit our Operating Hours and Seasonal Closures page for full information on the availability of our services during the holiday period.

 

Registering for a British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) Online Account (November 2012)

The first phase of our new BLDSS online interface is now available and we are inviting customers to register for a British Library Online account.  

In addition to personal Pay As You Go access, authorised Document Supply account representatives may also assume the role of Account Manager for nominated accounts.  To do this you need to register and activate your personal online account and then provide details of your online ID Number and customer code(s) to Customer Services Accounts.  We will then be able to set you up as the Account Manager.

 As a Document Supply Account Manager you will be able to:

1.            Set up administrators and end users

2.            Change your account default settings

3.            Check the progress of confirmed orders

4.            Approve or reject orders from users

5.            Report problems including chasing orders online

6.            Submit online renewals and cancellations

7.            Check possible matches to your requests (option to be selected)

8.            Resolve formatting issues (option to be selected)

9.            Tailor order administrator events (plain English replies)

The online system also allows access to searching, availability and pricing information. Please note however that online ordering is not yet available.

More information on BLDSS including tutorial videos is available here.

 

British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) Machine Readable Reply Codes (November 2012)

BLDSS uses a reduced number of Reply Codes to update customers on the status of requests sent by ARTEmail. The reduction in these codes, from over 100 to 24, has been achieved by consolidating codes with a similar meaning e.g. USE …., O/OWL … and BDG all advise that your request has been added to a waiting list.  Instead of continuing to send waiting list specific replies you will now receive only the USE code.  In rationalising the reply codes in use we have ensured full compatibility with Library Management Systems however the meaning of the Reply Code may now encompass more than one outcome. Full information on BLDSS machine readable Reply Codes and their definition may be found here

 

ARTEmail Format (November 2012)

As customers continue to deploy to the new British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) we have become aware that the format of many ARTemail requests do not conform to current guidelines.  Formatting errors may result in delayed or rejected orders. They may also affect our interpretation of your specified delivery instructions. In order for you reduce the risk of delays and failures, we would like to remind customers of our published ARTEmail standard, and the need to conform fully to these standards.

In particular we have noted these issues that will cause requests to be rejected or incorrectly processed by BLDSS:

  • Customer Code and ART password quoted in the incorrect order; The first line of the ART file should always be the Customer Code number and the second line the ART password:
Incorrect:Correct:
A1B2C3D87-0656
87-0656A1B2C3D

 

  • Incorrect ADD Address format; A file received with a line of text between the ADD Address command line and the delivery email address will not be able to be delivered:
Incorrect:Correct*:

:DELIVER ALL ITEMS TO:

CHARLES BATES

CHARLES.BATES@GMAIL.C0M

:DELIVER ALL ITEMS TO:

CHARLES.BATES@GMAIL.C0M

* (without the blank lines seen)

 

  • Conflicting Message Keyword Codes; One delivery method or search level per request should be quoted. ART requests containing both PHOTO and SED99, or S and SL should not be sent:
Incorrect:Correct:
TXBCA321 SED99 PHOTO S SLTXBCA321 SED99 SL

 

  • Request number formats; Customer reference numbers should contain no spaces as it can cause the characters after the space to be lost from the customer reference. Punctuation or special characters should not be used with the reference number as this may cause your order to ‘stall’:
Bad:Good*:

VDZLL 06560001

21 JAN 2011 / 1

87 - 0656/1232

VDZLL06560001

21JAN2011/1

87–0656/1232

 

The four simple rules for formatting ARTEmail requests are:

1. Start the file with your Document Supply Account Customer Code and password

2. Begin each new request with the letters TX followed by your reference number

3. Leave at least 4 blank lines, using the return key, between each request

4. End the file with NNNN (must be in upper case), and a single return key stroke

 

Returning Loans (November 2012)

An increasing number of customers are contacting us via ARTEmail using the message keyword RECALL DUE to advise that they are routinely returning a loan item.  To avoid unnecessary work created by these messages, we would ask that you only use the message RECALL DUE in cases where we have mistakenly sent you a Recall for an item you have already returned.

 

Return of Loans and Renewals during Public Holiday Closures (November 2012)

Please be aware that loan items may be due for renewal during periods of public holiday closure. In order that you do not incur unnecessary renewal charges please ensure that items are returned to us in plenty of time.  Please contact Customer Services for any queries relating to renewal charges.

Details of holiday closures may be found here.

 

Now Available - Document Supply Music Collection (November 2012)

We are pleased to announce that the Document Supply Music collection is now fully available following completion of the Asbestos Removal Management Programme. 

Our collection of more than 135,000 music scores covers most things from facsimile reprints of medieval manuscripts to the latest pop hits. It is strongest in recent publications, but a substantial number of older publications, including hard to find out-of-print material, have also been acquired to form the basis of a general music collection which can be borrowed via inter library loan.

We do not hold sets of orchestral parts or multiple copies of vocal scores. Details of orchestral sets held by libraries in the UK can be found in the Encore online catalogue.

British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) technical issues - update (October 2012)

Further to previous customer updates, we continue to roll out the new British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS). However, technical issues with the system have resulted in delays and a reduced quality of service for a number of our customers.

We wish to apologise to everyone who may be experiencing delays to their requests. We very much appreciate the patience that customers have demonstrated, and the constructive feedback people have offered as we work to stabilise the ordering system and deliver an effective service.

We would like to assure you that we are making every effort to resolve these issues and will update you on the progress we are making in the coming weeks.

British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) Online Videos (October 2012)

We've created a number of online videos designed to show you how to use our new online Document Supply Service. 

The short videos show in detail how to use each and every aspect of BLDSS - from Registration to Searching & Ordering to using the Administrative features. 

Click here to view the videos.

BLDSS Extended Search Services – GIFM and FIFM (August 2012)

We would like to remind customers that, as we deploy BLDSS, our existing Extended Search Service will be replaced with two new services – Get It For Me and Find It For Me.

Through Get It For Me (GIFM) we will try to source the item you require for one of our 3rd party suppliers. The price of this service is made up of the British Library Service Charge plus the actual cost of the item (and any copyright charges) from the 3rd party supplier. In most cases 3rd party supplier costs are comparable to the BL’s document supply charges. However, to minimise the risk of customers incurring unexpectedly high charges we will apply a maximum cost of approximately £45 ($70, €60) to your request.

If you wish to stay in full control of your costs then you may prefer to use our Find It For Me service (FIFM). Through this service we will, for a small charge, look for the item for you and tell you where you can source it from. We would advise our overseas customers to use this service if they wish to source a loan item from within the UK.

To use these new services through ARTEmail, or your Library Management System, you will need to use a message keyword code to tell us which service you require. These message keyword codes are the same as those previously used to request an extended search, however they now map to different services. Please ensure that you use the correct message keyword code for the service required.

To use Get It For Me, use the existing message keyword code BACKUP. For a location search only and to use Find It For Me please quote the message keyword code SL on the TX Header line of your requests.  The same message keyword codes apply regardless of whether you are located in the UK or Overseas.

 

 

Keyword

BLDSS Service

Premium Service

Total Cost

SL

 

FIFM

If we cannot supply from stock we will supply any locations found where you can source the document yourself

British Library

Service charge only

BACKUP

SW

WWS

 

GIFM

 

If we cannot supply from stock we will source and supply the document for you.

Service charge plus the actual cost of the item from the 3rd party supplier.

 

British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) Online Interface (August 2012)

We are pleased to announce that we are ready to release the first phase of our new Online Interface and we will shortly be emailing customers inviting you to register to access both the BLDSS Online Account Management and BLDSS Online Order Administration functionality. Please note that the second phase, which will include Online ordering, will not be available until September.

Registration is a two-step process. First those wishing to access the system will need to open a personal British Library Online Account.

By default, the personal online account allows Pay as You Go access to BLDSS. This allows you to order documents (when available), pay by credit/debit card and manage your personal account profile, e.g. change your email address and password, manage your address book, and set your preferences for ordering options.

Each Document Supply Account will need an Account Manager to be responsible for controlling online access within your organisation.  The Account Manager will be able to assign and set up administrators as well as give individuals within your organisation the ability to order documents (when available). According to the permissions assigned by the Account Manager, authorised Document Supply account administrators will be able to manage their business account profile, set preferences for ordering options and access the order administration system functionality including real-time order tracking.   Please note that anyone the Account Manager wishes to associate with their account will need to register for a their own personal Online Account first

Further information on Business Account Management can be found here .

Please contact Customer-Services-BLDSS or telephone +44 (0)1937 546060.

Adobe Signing Service and Activation Service Maintenance (July 2012)

Following advice from Adobe on 24 July, we write to inform you that if you download articles using Adobe Digital Editions, you may have to make urgent changes to your firewall rules.

Adobe informed us that they are making changes to some IP addresses and if your firewall rules allow through only specific IP addresses then you may have problems downloading articles unless you take action before 30 July 2012.

Please pass the following information on to your IT provider so they can check that you will be able to continue downloading articles after the IP address changes on 30 July:

If you have a firewall controlling access from your Adobe Digital Editions to the Signing Server, you will need to include new IP addresses in the firewall’s white list.

From 30 July 2012, the IP addresses will be:

eusigningservice.adobe.com:

                Primary:  193.104.215.86

                Failover:  192.150.16.87

nasigningservice.adobe.com:

                Primary:  192.150.16.86

                Failover:  193.104.215.85

The “Primary” address is where traffic is directed during normal operations, and the “Failover” address is used in case of service outage at the primary location.

We would also like to note that some versions of the Java Runtime Environment are known to cache the results of DNS name resolution to IP address. A restart of Tomcat or other container hosting your Adobe Digital Editions may be necessary.

If you require any further information or assistance, please contact Customer Services

Extended Search Service and August 2012 Price Changes (July 2012)

Our recently published price lists effective from 1 August 2012 include pricing details for the new Find It For Me and Get it For Me premium services offered by BLDSS.  These services are replacing our existing Stock and Location, Back Up and World Wide Search extended search services. Unfortunately, customers who have not yet been deployed to BLDSS will continue to receive the existing Extended Search Services at current prices until they are migrated to the new system.

 

Click here for a summary of previous Customer Service updates.