United States National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health

FAQ
DOCLINE -- Alternate Delivery Method Routing

Question: How does ‘Alternate Delivery Method’ Routing work?
Answer:

All requests routed to an institution will match either the preferred 'Network Delivery Method' or one of the 'Network Alternate Delivery Method(s)' and also match the other routing instructions (holdings, service level, etc.). The preferred 'Network Delivery Method' is always displayed at the top of the receipt. The 'Network Alternate Delivery Method(s)' are displayed in the body of the receipt.

During routing, cell by cell, DOCLINE will route first to libraries that that support the borrower's preferred 'Network Delivery Method', and then route to libraries that support one of the 'Network Alternate Delivery Method(s)'.

If a Lender receives a request with a preferred 'Network Delivery Method' that they do not provide, they should check Alternate Delivery on the receipt for the 'Network Alternate Delivery Method(s)' accepted by the Borrower.

For a complete description of routing, see the FAQ How does routing work?

Related Questions:
How does routing work?
How can I establish defaults for my borrow requests?
What are Special Handling requests?

Return to the list of DOCLINE FAQs | Return to the list of NLM FAQs
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/doc_alt_del_route.html

Last reviewed: 17 September 2008
Last updated: 17 September 2008
First published: 06 April 2006
Metadata| Permanence level: Permanence Not Guaranteed