About Campus-based Request Test accounts

What are campus-based Request test accounts?

Each UC campus has provided CDL with several library patron test accounts with various Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Service privileges, for example ILL OK, DDS OK; ILL OK ,DDS NO. All of these test accounts have DO NOT FILL somewhere in the patron name and CDL staff usually add a patron note that contains "do not fill".

Why do they exist?

The test accounts are needed for two purposes:

1. To test changes made to the Request service before the changes become available to end users.
2. To troubleshoot end user problems reported to CDL.

How are they used?

For testing programming changes:
Testing is done on the Request test system; the library holdings check is done on a test version of Melvyl and the IIL request appears in VDX stage or are emailed to CDL staff if the campus does not yet use VDX. Each of the Melvyl test versions contain a subset of the Melvyl Catalog records available in the public version of the Melvyl Catalog.

For troubleshooting Request problem reports:
Troubleshooting is first done on the Request test system. CDL staff use the public version of Request only if the problem item is not included in a test version of the Melvyl Catalog. Requests made using the public version of Request go through to the production version of VDX or to the OCLC ILL system and should appear in the home campus review queue, although sometimes things do slip through and go direct to the lender.

How to process Requests from Test accounts

If they appear in the VDX stage system

You can ignore the Request.

If they appear in the production version of VDX or in OCLC

Any time you see DO NOT FILL in the patron name, or if the Patron note includes the words "do not fill" the Request should be canceled. It should never go out to the lender. If one does slip through to a lender, please cancel it as soon as you notice it.